Traditionally, Japanese clothing – first the kosode and its later evolution, the kimono – did not have pockets. Though the sleeves of the kimono could be used to store small items, the men who wore kimono needed a larger and stronger container in which to store personal belongings, such as pipes, tobacco, money and seals, resulting in the development of containers known as sagemono, which were hung by cords from the robes’ sashes (obi).
These containers may have been pouches or small woven baskets, but the most popular were crafted boxes (inro) held shut by ojime, sliding beads on cords. Whatever the form of the container, the fastener that secured the cord at the top of the sash was a carved, button-like toggle called a netsuke. Netsuke, like inro and ojime, evolved over time from being strictly utilitarian into objects of great artistic merit, and an expression of extraordinary craftsmanship. Netsuke production was most popular during the Edo period (1603–1867).
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