Japan
Edo Period, 1603-1867
Masanao of Kyoto, Japanese, 18th century

Fine garments and the proper way to wear them were signs of sophistication and status in Edo Japan. Japanese garments like kimono had no pockets, so artisans created special boxes called inro to hold personal belongings. Men wore inro fastened to the sash of their garment by a button-like netsuke (NET-skeh). Originally simple pieces of horn or wood, netsuke developed into works of wearable art. Fashionable men collected and wore elaborately carved netsuke, often owning many different kinds to match any outfit or occasion.

Masanao of Kyoto, one of the most famous netsuke sculptors, carved this whimsical ivory example of a rabbit in a monk’s kimono. It may represent a character from the Choju Giga (“Frolicking Animals”) scrolls of the 12th century, which satirized human behavior (and particularly the behavior of monks) with caricatures of animals in human clothing engaged in human activities.

Ivory and amber, late 18th century
Gift of H. A. Fee, 1950.171