Netsuke or Okimono buttons for tobbacco containers, pouches from Japan small intro coll M

 

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Signature, rare South Sea Islander

 The Met Netsuke collection click to get the file/ booklet/ The Met Netsuke collection

https://www.google.com/goto?url=CAESsgEB6zswFfXCJly1YpGxzlKJam4ZfSMrZR-bIfr0Qlk4vO3doQw5VkfHQtx-nvmq-gfwPGI4_qlNPxCNaUHw_nZiJuCZ2D_yNEbYFzVTB9gNukzox8nybpJNEU6PS0JxKxdB0Bbx2o1Xiu6W1gFsZkxQ3Wvls9vCudkt2Ns_DUyINaPUUJo74HdR_grw3xauisH21PNTP0C0430e9X7qHP_ZDx7UWr9e6GTlglEG7ez6m27E 

How it all started

South Sea Islander carved from coral

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Another South Sea Islander

soapstone from China no Netsuke

Signed bone Okimono, coll M

Okimono Kinder Überraschung coll M

signed larger Okimono coll M

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Netsuke are decoratively carved toggles originally used to counterweight a gentleman’s inro (medicine/tobacco container) from his obi (belt). They are highly detailed and carved in the round, when photographing them the angle is key.

Okimono are generally ornaments with no other use but for display in the home. In this gallery you will also find examples of Jizai Okimono which are articulated figures often made of iron or bronze and in the case of the viper, wood.

 

A netsuke is a small, functional toggle used to secure hanging pouches on traditional Japanese clothing, while an okimono is a purely decorative sculpture meant for display. [1, 2]

Netsuke

Function: Used as a cord fastener (toggle) attached to a container like an inro or pouch to keep it from sliding down an obi (sash).
Design: Always feature functional holes (called himotoshi) for cords, rounded smooth edges to protect the kimono fabric, and a compact shape carved in the round.
History: Gained widespread popularity during the Edo period (1603–1868) as traditional wear lacked pockets. [1, 2, 3, 4]

Okimono

Function: Created strictly as an ornament or objet d'art for display in a home, often on a traditional tokonoma alcove.
Design: Usually larger than a netsuke, lacking cord holes, and often featuring more delicate, intricate protruding parts.
History: Flourished during the Meiji period (1868–1912) when Western-style clothing reduced the need for netsuke, prompting master carvers to shift their skills toward decorative export pieces. [1, 2, 3] 

In Japanese art, okimono (置物)[1] is a Japanese term meaning "ornament for display; objet d'art; decorative object", for small objects typically displayed in a tokonoma alcove or butsudan altar. The nearest equivalent term in Western art is probably objet d'art.

During the Meiji period and thereafter, many okimono were made for export to the West.[2]

An okimono may be a small Japanese carving, similar to, but larger than netsuke. Unlike netsuke, which have a specific purpose, okimono are purely decorative and are displayed in the tokonoma. This view has however sometimes been questioned, with some suggesting that okimono often had both utilitarian and decorative purposes, especially before Western influence.[2] An okimono can be made out of wood, ivory, ceramic or metal.

One subcategory of okimono is the jizai okimono, an articulated figure, typically of an animal, made out of bronze or iron. Okimono are normally not larger than a few centimetres. They depict all sorts of animals, mythological beasts, humans, gods, fruit, vegetables and objects, sometimes combined with each other, in all sorts of positions. Sometimes a scene is portrayed as well, either a daily scene or from a story.

Anything that could be carved or made into a small object can be used in an okimono. Some okimono were inspired by a group of objects and were supposed to be shown together as an ensemble.

Etymology

The Japanese word okimono compounds oku (置く, "put; place; set; lay out; assign; station; leave") and mono (物, "thing; object; article").. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the loanword okimono as "A standing ornament or figure, esp. one put in a guest room of a house", and records the first usage in 1886 by William Anderson.[3]
Okimono of fish in water, c. 1900 in the Khalili Collection of Japanese Art

One of the most renowned artists in the area of metalwork was Yamada Sōbi (1871-1916), who made pieces out of a single sheet of metal.[4]
References

    Kenkyusha's New Japanese-English Dictionary, Kenkyusha Limited, ISBN 4-7674-2015-6
    Mabuchi, Akiko (1998). "Cernuschi et sa collection d'Okimono". Ebisu. 19: 107–122. doi:10.3406/ebisu.1998.1614.
    Oxford English Dictionary (2009), CD-ROM edition (v. 4.0).
    "A hammered iron vase , MEIJI PERIOD (LATE 19TH CENTURY), SIGNED SOBI (YAMADA SOBI; 1871-1916)".

External links

Wikimedia Commons logo Media related to Okimono at Wikimedia Commons

    Netsuke: masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains many example okimono
    English online dictionary definition, related information, and various visual examples


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    This page was last edited on 10 September 2026 wiki