okimono

The Japanese word {{transl|ja|okimono}} compounds {{nihongo3|"put; place; set; lay out; assign; station; leave"|置く|oku}} and {{nihongo3|"thing; object; article"|物|mono}}.. The Oxford English Dictionary defines the loanword {{transl|ja|okimono}} as "A standing ornament or figure, esp. one put in a guest room of a house", and records the first usage in 1886 by William Anderson.Oxford English Dictionary (2009), CD-ROM edition (v. 4.0).

File:Khalili Collection Japanese Meiji Art M159.jpg]]

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An {{transl|ja|okimono}} may be a small Japanese carving, similar to, but larger than {{transl|ja|netsuke}}. Unlike {{transl|ja|netsuke}}, which have a specific purpose, {{transl|ja|okimono}} are purely decorative and are displayed in the {{transl|ja|tokonoma}}. This view has however sometimes been questioned, with some suggesting that {{transl|ja|okimono}} often had both utilitarian and decorative purposes, especially before Western influence.{{cite journal | url=https://doi.org/10.3406/ebisu.1998.1614 | doi=10.3406/ebisu.1998.1614 | title=Cernuschi et sa collection d'Okimono | date=1998 | last1=Mabuchi | first1=Akiko | journal=Ebisu | volume=19 | pages=107–122 }} An {{transl|ja|okimono}} can be made out of wood, ivory, ceramic or metal.

One subcategory of {{transl|ja|okimono}} is the {{transl|ja|jizai okimono}}, an articulated figure often made out of bronze or iron.

{{transl|ja|Okimono}} are normally not larger than a few centimetres. They depict all sorts of animals, mythological beasts, humans, gods, fruit, vegetables and objects, sometimes combined with each other, in all sorts of positions. Sometimes a scene is portrayed as well, either a daily scene or from a story.

Anything that could be carved or made into a small object can be used in an {{transl|ja|okimono}}. Some {{transl|ja|okimono}} were inspired by a group of objects and were supposed to be shown together as an ensemble.

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During the Meiji period, many {{transl|ja|okimono}} were made for export to the West. One of the most renowned artists in the area of metalwork was Yamada Sōbi (1871-1916), who made pieces out of a single sheet of metal.

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• [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 example {{transl|ja|okimono}}
• [http://www.lexic.us/definition-of/okimono English online dictionary definition, related information, and various visual examples]

Category:Japanese metalwork

Category:Japanese pottery

Category:Japanese sculpture

Category:Japanese woodwork

Category:Japanese words and phrases

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