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Paul Kyser
M,W,F 10:30-11:30
Art History Essay

JAPANESE
SCULPTURES
IN THE
EDO PERIOD
(1600-1868)

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Sculptures in Japan during the Edo period seemed to shift away from Buddhist traditions. Sculpture of the
Edo period during sixteen hundred to eighteen sixty-eight was a period of when sculpture had left far behind it the
stage of paramount Buddhist influence, for the period of the architecture sculpture which had commenced in the
Momoyama period was now in full swing. (Seiroku 29) Therefore sculptors of the Edo period turned away from
design and towards mass producing the sculptures. Sculptures during this period became further of a craft. Similarly
stated in this article, Almost no sculpture worthy of note was created during this period for sculptural art was in the
hands of mere craftsmen, not of the artist. (Shoten 18) Nevertheless there remained a type of sculpture that
flourished in the Edo period of Japan and that was netsuke; miniature hand carved sculptures usually tied to a
decorative sash that people could wear around their waist(okada3).
A form of netsuke is a miniature sculpture attached to a sash that went around the waist and it was one of
the utmost popular small sculptures of this time period. With an analyzation of the depictions and the paintings of it,
its perceived that heaps of people from that time period wore the sash with carved sculptures as an imperative
portion of their clothing; resembling a sort of decorative and fashionable tool belt the demand for netsuke largely
grew out of the fashion for carrying bulky items, such as tobacco pouches, purses, and the tiered boxes called inro
(literary called seal case) originally used to hold seals, and later used to hold medicine. (Okada 3) However since
they were subsequently wildly popular, it became further of a craft now rather than an artist work. The carved
sculpture decorated sash remained used similarly to how nowadays people use belts. However, it can similarly be a
form of jewelry that shows the persons wealth status.
The Japanese art of this period remained influenced by numerous other cultures, comparable to the Chinese
and even Europeans. However likewise, it could be alleged over the influence of Japanese culture to the Europeans
who greatly adored Japanese crafts and most possibly traded with the Japanese. There were a few notable small
netsuke wood and ivory carvings, corresponding to the carvings of Sennin. In netsuke they were characterized by
curly hair and beard and large ears. (Okada 12) There were countless sculptures resembling the carvings of Sennin
that seem to be influenced by the Chinese mythology, nonetheless the Japanese seemed to have adopted and
changed the mythology slightly in their art. The carvings of Sennin were most possibly a form of jewelry to be worn
somewhere on the body, around the waist or attached to a sash. There exist additional examples of the small
sculptures, resembling the first animal netsuke. It was a small sculpture that has a head shaped, resembling a dragon

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and seemed to be a depiction of a mythical creature of the Chinese culture. The sculpture stood 2 inches high and
completely carved of ivory. An article stated that the first animal netsuke, dating from the seventeen century, where
mostly of creatures derived from Chinese mythology, such as the Kirin, Baku, and the Karashishi. (Okada 16)
So Sculpture during the edo period is really vastly different in comparison towards the other periods of
Japanese sculpture. With the other civilizations spreading new ideas into Japanese culture, they adopted into a style
where a person could flaunt a since of style or maybe show their wealth. The small wearable sculptures called
netsuke are really unique because the sculptures were super popular in Japan like nowadays people have these fads.
So really netsuke is really a form of sculpture that was really important during this Edo time period so there was a
high demand for it, causing it to become mas produced. Well mass produced in a way that there wasnt really artist
doing the work anymore and it ended up being more of a craft than anything.

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Works cited

Department of Asian Art. "Art of the Edo Period (16151868)". In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. New York:
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000. http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/edop/hd_edop.htm
(October2003)
Figgess, John. London. Royal Academy. The Great Japan Exhibition. The Art of the Edo Period 1600-1868. The
Burlington Magazine 124.947 (1982): 113111. Web.
Ford, Barbara Brennan. The Arts of Japan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 45.1 (1987): 156. Web.
Impey, Oliver. Japanese Export Art of the Edo Period and Its Influence on European Art. Modern Asian Studies
18.4 (1984): 685697. Web.
Noma, Seiroku. Japanese Sculpture. Trans. M. G. Mori. Vol. 29. Tokyo: Board of Tourist Industry, Japanese
Government Railways, 1939. 1-99. Print.
Okada, Barbra Teri. Netsuke: The Small Sculptures of Japan. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 38.2
(1980): 348. Web.
Shoten, Kadokawa, Suzuki Susumu, and Kawakita Michiaki, eds. A Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Oriental Arts.
Vol. 4. New York: Crown, 1969. 1-171. Print.

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Watson, William, ed. The Great Japan Exhibition: Art of the Edo Period, 1600-1868. New York: Alpine Fine Arts
Collection, 1981. 1-365. Print.