Netsuke Central

[PietroParis]

This for the record is my own Komachi, bought from a German auction without seeing it first in hand. It was described as “bearing a shiny patina”, but I suspect that it was in fact coated with some kind of varnish by a misguided collector or "cowboy restorer"...
 

[Bugyotsuji]

So definitely not Renaissance wax then, Pietro?

[Van Minnen]

The redness in reality is more brown, the camera comes out red, but its more brown than red. 

The hole does go right through. 

The size is 37mm high 

33mm wide

43mm long

I realise you know your way around these items, but I am not sure what the full picture is 

Am I right in your suggestion 

 

Seki,

last character might be  un

Maybe a Shojo

 

Or Ono no Komachi

 

Is there anyway to identify the period when this was carved? 

 

Many thanks for your assistance and advice 

 

[PietroParis]

6 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

So definitely not Renaissance wax then, Pietro?

I’m afraid it’s something more permanent, it appears to have formed a thin film. It’s like some kind of furniture oil. There are also a few tiny blisters where the film separated from the surface:

 

[PietroParis]

1 hour ago, Van Minnen said:

I realise you know your way around these items, but I am not sure what the full picture is 

Am I right in your suggestion (….)

Is there anyway to identify the period when this was carved?

To summarize:

 

1) it’s definitely Ono no Komachi in old age rather than a Shojo.

 

2) The characters appear to be the ones identified by Piers, but the signature is not included in any list of netsuke carvers.

 

3) the top-down hole is not what you would expect in a netsuke, but the item seems too large for an ojime (i.e., the bead that is positioned on the cord between the netsuke and the object that hangs from it).

 

So this piece remains a bit of an enigma to me. Based on these pictures I would generically place it in the 19th century, but I can’t say exactly what it is or whether it has been tampered with at a later stage.

[Bugyotsuji]

Ono no Komachi, agreeing with Pietro. (Scrub Shojo!)

A vertical hole is typical for an ojime slide, but not at that size, and not for a Netsuke, Graham. Are there no other holes in it? If not, then we are looking at a small *Okimono, probably not a Netsuke. The vertical hole could have been inserted later, but that would not change things apart from the ability to be strung.
 

*Okimono literally means an object for ‘placing’, a decorative object for a flat surface, carved in the Meiji period at the earliest.

[PietroParis]

Our replies crossed Piers, but great minds think alike!

[Van Minnen]

Many thanks again for all the imput and goodwill. 

The hole on the top of the head seems very narrow. 

The hole underneath, between the feet, has another exit, on the right facing, just under the arm. Apologies for not mentioning this fact. Both holes are joined, and looking in sunlight I can see the bottom hole visible from the side hole,as light enters the bottom hole. 

My indebtedness to your continued assistance 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

The holes (from what we can see) do not follow normal Netsuke holes which are larger, more like tunnels. Yours look to have been drilled later on. The question is 'why?'

 

I would still stick with a definition of 'Okimono', rather than 'Netsuke'.

 

Admittedly they can be close in conception, especially in the Meiji period where Netsuke and Okimono can sometimes overlap. A Netsuke might have a flat bottom for example, taking on an increasing ability to stand alone as an ornament.

[John C]

The auction house is calling this a teppo netsuke, however it does not have the typical ring centered on the bottom like others I have seen.

Is this a fake or possibly an actual pocket pistol?

https://zentnercollection.com/product/antique-Japanese-teppo-netsuke-2/

 

John C.

[Bugyotsuji]

“Pre-1920” tells us that it cannot be a real teppō as they finally went out of use around 1860. As to “Netsuke” I cannot see it, but it is not my place to criticize auction descriptions, which can vary wildly. Size, weight, smoothness and roundness in the hand, functionality as a Netsuke?

[Sutraken]

Gents, 

 

I would like to share my recently acquired netsuke with you. I think it was made of ivory and looks interesting. I always had an interest in a lot of Japanese art objects aside of nihonto, but this particular piece is my first netsuke. I would like to know more about this object, perhaps someone can tell me the translation of the stamp it bears. Thank you in advance. 

 

Stefan

 

 

[Sutraken]

More pictures 

 

 

[Sutraken]

 

 

 

[Sutraken]

The last picture with the kanji

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Hi Stefan. Thank you for posting. These rather better quality Chinese figures, Okimono, are not so old, (1900s), sadly made of ivory for the tourist trade. As ivory is illegal to buy and sell in most countries today, it is of little worth in the west. With no obvious Himotōshi holes they would not function as or qualify as Netsuke.

 

The name Gyokuseki 玉石 has been added for ‘Japanese’ style cachet.

 

The classical figure is probably Shoki the Demon Queller

[Sutraken]

Thank you, Piers. I bought this figure out of curiosity. Anyway I like it for what it is and will keep it in my possession. 

[Brian]

Bugs, would these be more properly called small okimono?

[Bugyotsuji]

We were not given the sizes, but this figure is just a small figurine really, (almost like a decorative chess piece) as it is not within the traditional Japanese Netsuke/Okimono remit.

If we had to choose a definition, then Okimono would be closer, which literally means ‘an object for placement’ or static object. Okimono from Japan became popular from Meiji onwards, tending to be rather larger decorative figures.
(But Stefan’s above is more like an NLO, or a Netsuké-like object.)

[Sutraken]

My figurine has a height of 6cm.

[PietroParis]

On 9/23/2025 at 5:54 PM, Bugyotsuji said:

The classical figure is probably Shoki the Demon Queller

 

The pagoda in his hand would rather point to Bishamonten, probably part of a "Seven Lucky Gods" series. The signature Gyokuseki is very common on modern Chinese souvenirs, some even think it's a pun because in Japanese it means something like "dodgy".

[Baka Gaijin]

Also you can read 玉石 as:

Good and Bad

Gems and Stones

Wheat and Chaff

[Kiita]

A humble and highly rustic offering, perhaps loosely in the category of mingei, in the form of a pipe case, tobacco caddy made of what seems to be lacquer saturated cloth (would be interested to know the proper name for this craft), and wooden ashtray, with a tooth of about the right size to have originated in the mouth of a large dog or small bear as something like an ojime, all of which have seen better days. This assortment came to me in a lot of other items I was after, but having it in hand I've come to appreciate all of the subtle textures it holds. One of those very human objects that inclines one to wonder for a moment about the life of its bearer(s) and what times it saw.

 

 

From the wood's grain it seems to have been carved from slice of branch. The center peg is a separate piece as usual. Reminds me of a mushroom, with the decades of congealed tar serving as gills.

 

 

The outer surface is worn down to its cloth matrix but within one can still see the original red and black lacquerwork. Also some kizami tobacco of unknown vintage. Yes, I smoked a pinch, no, I didn't die.

 

[John C]

Aaron:

This site here has some good info on tabako-ire, kiseru, and other smoking related items. The whole set-up could be referred to as sagemono (items that hang from the obi or belt since kimono had no pockets).

Also, the netsuke ash tray looks like bamboo to me. The shredded tobacco looks typical as well.

https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ire

 

John C.

 

 

[Kiita]

6 hours ago, John C said:

Aaron:

This site here has some good info on tabako-ire, kiseru, and other smoking related items. The whole set-up could be referred to as sagemono (items that hang from the obi or belt since kimono had no pockets).

Also, the netsuke ash tray looks like bamboo to me. The shredded tobacco looks typical as well.

https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ire

 

John C.

 

 

Good article, thanks. Not a complete stranger to kiseru themselves but it's good to get the terminology down for the paraphernalia. What makes you think the ashtray is bamboo? I see clear endgrain and sidegrain.

[John C]

3 hours ago, Kiita said:

What makes you think the ashtray is bamboo? I

From what I could see in the pic, the grain structure (grain width and porous nature). The use of bamboo was also quite common. The one I have (see pic) has a very similar concentric and porous grain, though not as refined as yours.

John C.

[Bugyotsuji]

Hmm… I wonder what that is, if it is not bamboo…(?)

 

My own collection, culled mostly from antiques markets in Japan, generally tends toward the functional and everyday rather than top-end Netsuké and Sagemono, so I have several smokers’ sets of that same ilk, although they are handmade, so no two are really alike. Good honest artefacts.
Just occasionally I do spot a real treasure though! 

[Bugyotsuji]

This little lacquered carrying cup may be made from the same material as the ashtray haizara netsuke above. The concentric rings and little pinpricks look similar. Could be hazé 櫨の木, wax tree.(?)

 

Upright cup

[Bugyotsuji]

And… several objects here which may prove puzzling.

Most of these are connected somehow to my matchlock, armour and blackpowder displays, but not all.

 

Can you see for example a rice quality tester, a fire starting kit, a pricker, a tinder container, a priming flask, some bear bells, etc.?

 

Most of these were not expensive, or I swapped them for something,

i.e. nothing to break the bank.

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Well, it's been 24 hours.

Most of the above hang from the obi with a netsuke as a stopper. Almost everything dates from the Edo period.

 

Eight of the 'kinchaku' purses are leather, and two are cloth. Five are Jabara (accordion style).

There are six iron Hi-uchigane 火打ち金 strikers, 4 Japanese and 2 Continental.

Five haizara ashtray netsuke, two of which are shinchu brass.

Four tinder purses, and three tinder cylinders. (Some purses have an attached striker, and also contain tinder and flint.)

There is one kiseru, and one rice tester.

 

Did anyone spot the vent pricker?