inro, netsuke, ojime, unknown maker from Japan

Exhibition Label:
Asian Gallery, Summer 2003, Youmi Efurd
Inro were objects of personal adornment worn by Japanese men during the Edo period (1615-1868). Meaning “seal box,” inro evolved from small bags or boxes, which earlier may have been used to carry seals. The inro was held on a cord tucked under the sash and by the mid-seventeenth century was used to hold herbs for medicinal purposes.

Archive Label 2003:
Merchants, actors and wealthy samurai wore inro suspended from the sash of their kimonos. Inro are containers made of several sections that are connected by a loop of cord. The cord is fed through an ojime (bead) used to close the container at its top, and then through a netsuke or toggle. The netsuke was pulled through the obi, or kimono sash, and hung over its upper edge so that the inro- hung suspended by its cord below. Since kimonos did not have pockets, inro-, which means “seal case or box,” were used to hold seals or herbs for medicinal purposes.

Auspicious flowers and plant forms, and symbols of strength and fortitude typically decorated inro-. The falcon or hawk on this inro- was an emblem of the warrior class because of the bird’s keen eyesight, its predatory nature, and its boldness. The plum tree on which the falcon is perched is often linked to poets and other men of learning. The metal shell-shaped ojime echoes the shape of the clam shell netsuke that is decorated with a Namban (literally “Southern Barbarian,” a 16th-17th-century term applied to European visitors) made with ivory inlay. This diverse combination of symbols probably had a personal meaning to the inro-’s owner.