Inro
{{short description|Traditional Japanese pillbox or case}}
{{Italic title}}
File:壽字吉祥文蒔絵印籠 - Inrō with the Characters for Longevity and Good Fortune and the “Seven Lucky Treasures” on Checkerboard Ground.jpg, 18th century, Metropolitan Museum of Art]]
An {{nihongo|inro|印籠|Inrō|{{lit.}} "stamp case"}} is a traditional Japanese case for holding small objects, suspended from the {{Transliteration|ja|obi}} (sash) worn around the waist when wearing a kimono. They are often highly decorated with various materials such as lacquer and various techniques such as {{Transliteration|ja|maki-e}}, and are more decorative than other Japanese lacquerware.
Because traditional Japanese dress lacked pockets, objects were often carried by hanging them from the {{Transliteration|ja|obi}} in containers known as {{Transliteration|ja|{{linktext|sagemono}}}} (a hanging object attached to a sash). Most {{Transliteration|ja|sagemono}} were created for specialized contents, such as tobacco, pipes, writing brush and ink, but the type known as {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} is suitable for carrying small things, and was created in the Sengoku period (1467–1615) as a portable identity seal and medicine container for travel.
In the middle of the Edo period (1603–1868), {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} became popular as men's accessories, and wealthy merchants of the {{Transliteration|ja|chōnin}} and samurai classes collected {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} often beautifully decorated with lacquer. As the technique developed from the late Edo period to the Meiji period (1868–1912) and the artistic value of {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} increased, {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} were no longer used as an accessory and came to be regarded as an art object for collection.Masayuki Murata. 明治工芸入門 pp. 104–106. Me no Me, 2017 {{ISBN|978-4907211110}}Yūji Yamashita. 明治の細密工芸 pp. 79–81. Heibonsha, 2014 {{ISBN|978-4582922172}}
The term {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} is a combination of the kanji for {{nihongo||印|in}}, which means a seal or stamp, and the kanji for {{nihongo||籠|rō}}, which means a basket.
Description
Consisting of a stack of tiny, nested boxes, {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} were most commonly used to carry medicine. The stack of boxes is held together by a cord that is laced through cord runners down one side, under the bottom, and up the opposite side. The ends of the cord are secured to a {{Transliteration|ja|netsuke}}, a kind of toggle that is passed between the sash and pants and then hooked over the top of the sash to suspend the {{Transliteration|ja|inro}}. An {{Transliteration|ja|ojime}} bead is provided on the cords between the {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} and {{Transliteration|ja|netsuke}} to hold the boxes together. This bead is slid down the two suspension cords to the top of the {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} to hold the stack together while the {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} is worn, and slid up to the {{Transliteration|ja|netsuke}} when the boxes need to be unstacked to access their contents.
{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} are mostly made from paper, wood, metal, or ivory, with the most common material being paper. Paper {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} are made by winding and hardening many layers of {{Transliteration|ja|washi}} paper with lacquer; paper was a popular material for {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} as unlike wood, it would not distort and crack over time.
{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} are commonly decorated with lacquered designs, with the expensively produced {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} featuring {{Transliteration|ja|maki-e}}, {{Transliteration|ja|raden}}, ivory inlay and metal foiling. Though {{Transliteration|ja|ojime}} and {{Transliteration|ja|netsuke}} evolved out of a mostly decorative capacity, {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} retained their functionality, having evolved from strictly utilitarian articles into objects of high art and immense craftsmanship.
For a period of time in the Edo period, {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} was also used as a symbol of power. Today, among sumo referees ({{Transliteration|ja|gyōji}}), only {{Transliteration|ja|gyōji}} of the higher ranks are allowed to equip {{Transliteration|ja|inro}}.[https://web.archive.org/web/20201118233713/https://www3.nhk.or.jp/sports/story/1190/index.html 行司なくして大相撲は成り立たない！土俵支える裏方"行司"とは.] NHK. July 5, 2019
Today, many {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} are collected in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the British Museum, and the Victoria and Albert Museum. Because {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} were popular among foreign collectors, there were few of the highest quality {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} made from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period in Japan, but Masayuki Murata actively collected them from the 21st century, and today the Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum,[http://sannenzaka-museum.co.jp/en/ Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum] which he manages, houses many of the highest quality {{Transliteration|ja|inro}}.
Today, {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} are made by a few craftsmen. The best lacquer technique from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period, especially the {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} technique, was almost lost in the westernization of Japanese lifestyle. However, in 1985 lacquer craftsman {{Nihongo|Tatsuo Kitamura|北村辰夫}} set up his own studio {{Nihongo|"Unryuan"|雲龍庵}} and succeeded in recreating them. His lacquer works are collected in the Victoria and Albert Museum and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and are an object of collection for the world's wealthy.[https://web.archive.org/web/20200923100235/https://www.kehoe.com.au/artists/unryuan/ Unryuan Kitamura Tatsuo.] Lesley Kehoe Galleries[http://jmapps.ne.jp/kanazawa21/sakka_det.html?list_count=10&person_id=193 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa][https://web.archive.org/web/20200710045318/https://dentsu-ho.com/articles/4412 超絶の伝統工芸技術の復元から 世界ブランド構築へのマーケティングヒストリー] Web Dentsu. September 5, 2016[https://web.archive.org/web/20181209213539/https://www.nikkan.co.jp/releases/view/737 雲龍庵とは何者ぞ！細部に宿る漆工の美 超絶技巧の全貌 雲龍庵と希龍舎.] Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun. September 21, 2017 Nowadays, {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} are rarely worn as kimono accessories, but there are collectors all over the world.
File:Inro exploded.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} components
File:Netsuke-p1030001.jpg|An {{Transliteration|ja|inro}} suspended by a {{Transliteration|ja|netsuke}} and held together with an {{Transliteration|ja|ojime}}
File:布引瀧蒔絵印籠箪笥 - Inro Cabinet with Design of Waterfall in Maki-e Lacquer.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} cabinet with a waterfall design in {{Transliteration|ja|maki-e}} lacquer, Edo or Meiji period, 19th century
File:Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum.jpg|Kiyomizu Sannenzaka Museum
Gallery
File:Inrō with Design of Cranes Standing Beneath a Gnarled Pine Tree and Netsuke Depicting Yoshitsune and Benkei.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with a design of cranes standing beneath a gnarled pine tree and {{Transliteration|ja|netsuke}} depicting Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Benkei, Edo period, 18th century
File:印籠-Inro with Fox's Wedding.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with fox's wedding ({{Transliteration|ja|kitsune no yomeiri}}). Edo period, late 18th–early 19th century
File:原羊遊斎作・酒井抱一下絵 梅木蒔絵印籠-Inrō with Design of Blossoming Plum Tree MET DP259977.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with design of blossoming plums, by Hara Yōyūsai and Sakai Hōitsu, Edo period, early 19th century
File:七夕蒔絵印籠-Inrō with Tanabata Story of the Weaver and the Herdboy MET DP223709.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with {{Transliteration|ja|tanabata}} story of the weaver and the herdboy, by Nomura Kyūkoku, Edo period, early 19th century
File:古満安匡作 孔雀蒔絵印籠-Inrō with Peacocks and Flowers MET DP281397.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with peacocks and flowers, by Koma Yasutada, Edo period, 19th century
File:梶川文竜斎作, 宝船蒔絵印籠 - Inrō with Treasure Boat.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with treasure boat ({{Transliteration|ja|takarabune}}), by Kajikawa Bunryūsai, Edo period, 19th century
File:印籠-Inro with Design of Eulalia Grass and Deer.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with design of eulalia grass and deer, with eagle {{Transliteration|ja|netsuke}}, Edo period, 19th century
File:印籠-Inro with Design of Two Hawks on Tasseled Perches.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with design of two hawks on tasseled perches, Edo period, 19th century
File:Inro Somada school.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}}, design of minute patterns in mother-of-pearl inlay, Somada school, Edo period, 19th century
File:MET DP253247.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} by Shibata Zeshin, Meiji period, 19th century
File:印籠-Inro. Grasses.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}} with the rice ears, by Yamada Joka, 19th century
File:印籠-Inro. Twelve calendrical animals in a landscape.jpg|{{Transliteration|ja|Inro}}. Twelve calendrical animals in a landscape, 19th century
See also
- Sporran (Scottish)
References
{{Reflist}}
- Bushell, Raymond "The {{lang|ja-Latn|Inrō|italic=no}} Handbook", Weatherhill, 2002. {{ISBN|0-8348-0135-3}}
- "Legend in Japanese Art" by Henri L. Joly; 1908/1967; Charles E. Tuttle, Rutland VT; {{ISBN|0-8048-0358-7}}
External links
{{commons category}}
- [http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p15324coll10/id/90981/rec/1 Netsuke: masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art], an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains many examples of {{lang|ja-Latn|Iiro}}
- [http://www.bmagic.org.uk/results?s=+inro Birmingham Museums & Art Gallery]
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Category:Japanese words and phrases