Case | inro

The social status of a man was recognised by the type and proportion of his Inrō. The word means "bamboo container for seals". In the 17th century only the privileged nobility and samurais wore an Inrō on their belts. Later, it became a prized fashion item for the elegant urban citizen and was also used as a medicine container, purse or tobacco pouch. The Inrō in the Freiburg collection consists of five tightly fitting compartments. On the inside there are holes through which a braided silk carrying cord is threaded. A wooden ball serves as a fastener, which closes the compartments by tightening the cord. At the end of the cord there is a flat round wooden netsuke to attach the Inrō to the belt. The Inrō has been made in the hiramakie technique ("flat netsuke"), which was developed in the "golden" Heian period (794-1192). The wooden core is primed with a layer of lacquer after its production. After that, the decoration is sketched onto the lacquer base. Silver, gold and coloured lacquer powders are sprinkled on the drawing. Afterwards, the scattered parts are coated several times with thin transparent lacquer and then polished to achieve a lustrous, shiny patina. Lacquer is obtained from the sap of the Japanese lacquer tree (Toxicodendron verniciflua). The range of motifs for Inrōs is unmanageable. This Inrō shows a peasant family fleeing from a storm in self-preservation from the lashing rain with a straw mat or a round basket; the reverse side shows a willow tree in the wind, below which are the embankments of harvested paddy fields. The man carries a hoe, the woman has a child bound to her body. This motif was a popular theme in the second half of the 18th century in the Kajikawa workshops in Edo (Tokyo). Author: Svetlana Boltovska, Translation: Timothy Connell