Читать книгу Contempory Netsuke - Miriam Kinsey - Страница 14

CHAPTER 1

Background

NETSUKE AND SCULPTURAL ART

With the introduction of Buddhism into Japan in A.D. 552 A whole new world of sculptural art was born. Buddhist images and image carvers came to Japan from China, and the deities of Buddhism provided a wealth of new subject matter for the Japanese artist. Some of the world's finest examples of Buddhist art, the wooden statues of the Nara period (710-94), were produced by Japanese sculptors early in the eighth century. While Chinese canons of art unquestionably had an influence on Japan's sculpture during the Nara period, the true Japanese tradition was never submerged. Subsequent periods were marked by various sculptural innovations, including architectural decorations, masks worn in Noh dramas, sword ornaments and furnishings, the netsuke, and the ojime. When netsuke first came into use is not definitely known, although the earliest artistically executed netsuke still in existence date from the end of the sixteenth century.

EARLY PERIOD (c. 1574-1780)

The word netsuke, loosely translated, means “root attachment." The absence of pockets in the kimono made netsuke a necessary, functional part of Japanese attire. Their basic origin can 'be traced to the Muromachi period (1336—1568), when they were presumably worn as toggles attached to a cord tucked under the belt or sash (obi) from which were suspended keys, a water gourd, or various objects known as koshisage (things hanging from the waist), or sagemono (hanging things). The netsuke of this period were natural forms—a wisteria root, a shell, a small gourd, a bone, a stone, or an uncarved piece of wood (Fig. 2).

The decorated netsuke undoubtedly came into use late in the sixteenth or early in the seventeenth century, when it was the fashion for samurai and the aristocratic classes to carry inro (see Frontispiece). The inro was a small flat box, usually containing several compartments, and was used to carry medicine or seals. The compartments were neatly fitted, one on top of the other, and were held together by a cord that passed through a bead fastener called an ojime. The netsuke was attached to the end of the cord as a toggle to hold the cord under the obi. Money pouches (kinchaku) also hung from the obi, held fast with netsuke toggles. These early netsuke were simple in design and generally fashioned in wood, although some in bone, ivory, metal, and lacquer are also attributed to this period.

2. Natural-form netsuke.

By the latter part of the seventeenth century the tobacco pouch, held in place at the waist by cord and netsuke, came into use (Fig. 3). During the eighteenth century the practice of pipe smoking became very widespread, with the result that there was an increase in the demand for netsuke. The netsuke became a status symbol, its style and value corresponding to the position and wealth of the wearer.

This booming netsuke market gave occupation to many carvers and lured distinguished artists from other arts and crafts. One of the imperial edicts against the Christians (c. 1605) required that a Buddhist image be placed in every home. This led many artists to turn their talents to sculptural art. When the demand for religious images was satisfied, many sculptors then turned their creative skills to netsuke carving. Netsuke of finest quality, in increasing numbers, were coming from the workshops of top-ranking carvers. At the same time, less skillfully wrought netsuke were being produced for those of limited means.

3. Tobacco pouch, pipe (in case), cord, and netsuke.

Prior to this time there were no professional netsuke carvers to pass the art down from generation to generation, as was traditional in the world of Buddhist-image sculptors. Netsuke carving was largely a side industry of various craftsmen, such as maskmakers and dollmakers, metalworkers, lacquerers, image sculptors, and makers of musical instruments. Netsuke carving was also a pastime of dentists, artists, samurai, and men of learning. By the latter part of the eighteenth century, the demand for netsuke became so great that many of the most talented craftsmen turned to netsuke carving as a vocation. Thus began the seventy-year period often referred to as the Golden Age of netsuke art.

THE GOLDEN AGE (c. 1780-1850)

This period reached its zenith during the first three decades of the nineteenth century. The netsuke carvers—both professionals and hobbyists—increased in number. Netsuke in great quantity, some of the finest in quality and most varied in material and design, were produced. The majority of carvers lived in and near large cities—Tokyo (Edo), Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagoya—and because of the great demand, wholesale stores specializing in netsuke were established in these cities. The work of the first-rank carvers could be increasingly recognized by individual style and subject matter, as well as by regional characteristics.

DECLINE (c. 1850-75)

Several factors contributed to the decline of netsuke art during the period immediately preceding and following the Meiji Restoration. With the arrival of Commodore Perry on Japanese shores in 1853 and the reopening of foreign trade, which had been virtually prohibited for over two centuries, Western-style clothing with pockets began to take the place of the kimono, and cigarettes replaced pipes. Ironically, tobacco, which two centuries previously had contributed greatly to the growth of netsuke art through general use of the tobacco pouch, now played a major role in its decline with the introduction of cigarettes.

The restoration of imperial rule brought emphasis on commerce and industry and a diminishing of art appreciation. In 1871 an edict abolished the wearing of swords, the very heart of the samurai tradition. Thus the wearing of inro and netsuke by samurai and the upper classes became a custom of the past, and netsuke moved from a traditional place in formal Japanese apparel to the status of collectors' items.

THE BEGINNING OF THE COLLECTING ERA (c. 1875)

Following the arrival of the Americans, foreign trade treaties were signed. Meanwhile, civil war broke out between the emperor's progressive party and the shogun. After a bitter struggle, the Tokugawa shogunate fell, and power was restored to the emperor. The year 1868 marked the beginning of the Meiji era, which lasted for forty-four years.

Ruling aristocrats were dispossessed, deprived of income, and forced to sell their art treasures. Their netsuke, now in disuse, together with those belonging to the samurai and other classes, were sold for incredibly small amounts. From that time on, the story of netsuke becomes the story of netsuke collecting among foreigners. Japanese netsuke wholesalers who had set up shops in the large cities during the heyday of netsuke carving became suppliers for exporters. Netsuke quickly became greatly desirable collectors' items, and both the Japanese countryside and junk shops in the cities were ransacked to fill the ever increasing demand from European and American dealers.

It is ironic that the netsuke, which rarely had been recognized or fully appreciated by the Japanese people, should have been one of the art forms to introduce Japan abroad.

During the latter part of the nineteenth century a few Japanese art exhibits were held in London, and in 1891 the Japan Society was founded and subsequently did a great deal to further interest in Japanese art. Even today, many netsuke collectors from all over the world hold membership in this organization.

Some of the largest early collections, running into the thousands of pieces, were to be found in England. Even earlier, French collections came upon the scene. Although smaller than those in England, they were considered of finer quality. Other important collections appeared in America and Germany. Albert Brockhaus, a German collector, began his collecting in 1877 and became a recognized authority on the subject.

As this first generation of netsuke enthusiasts passed away during the first quarter of the twentieth century, most of their collections were sold on the open market. Very few of their heirs shared the netsuke fever, and, with the exception of a large collection that belonged to Sir A. W. Franks and was willed to the British Museum, few became bequests to the public domain. Thus most of the large collections, representing the cream of Japanese netsuke, were broken up and, largely through auction sales, passed into the hands of the second generation of netsuke collectors. One of the outstanding second-generation collectors was M. T. Hindson, widely recognized as a distinguished netsuke scholar.

Prices still were comparatively low, but the day of concentration of very large collections in the hands of a few collectors was over. Thanks to a number of experts and brilliant authorities like Henri Joly, the circle of knowledgeable collectors was widening. Good netsuke could now be found throughout the world in antique shops such as Yamanaka's in London, a branch of the famous Osaka and Kyoto Yamanaka's. They could also be bought in large department stores like Liberty's in London and the Printemps and Bon Marché stores in Paris, and from smaller dealers such as S. Bing, whose Paris shop was a rendezvous for netsuke scholars.

Immediately after World War II, some very fine antique netsuke owned by Japanese families came on the market in various cities in Japan. Many of them were acquired by Americans in the army of occupation at ridiculously low prices, sometimes for a package of cigarettes. Netsuke thus acquired formed the nucleus of several important collections.

The third generation of collectors is now spread throughout the entire world. Netsuke in limited numbers can be found in stores and shops or purchased from private dealers in almost every country, but the major sales of antique masterpieces still are made at the London auctions, where prices occasionally pass the $10,000 mark for a first-rate netsuke by a famous carver.

A collector of antique netsuke today must have a large bank account and an extensive knowledge of a complex, confusing subject. At the same time he must be content with a modest-sized collection. Occasionally, however, a rare bargain can still be found, and there is more challenge and excitement than ever in the quest for and possession of good netsuke.

And collections of “good netsuke" can and should include works of some outstanding living Japanese netsuke carvers. Their skill can match that of the great carvers of the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, and their artistry, originality, and imagination represent a fresh and enchanting approach to the traditional netsuke art form.

THE POST-RESTORATION PERIOD (c. 1875-1925)

The netsuke produced in the period roughly covering the last quarter of the nineteenth century and the first quarter of the twentieth century were generally classified as “modern." As the available supply of antique netsuke in Japan began to dwindle, many carvers who had lost their home market began to produce quick, cheap imitations for export. Because these products were so inferior to the beautiful antique netsuke that had been coming from Japan since the reopening of foreign trade, a distorted image was born and still persists in the minds of many collectors: old netsuke are good, and new netsuke are bad per se.

Actually, however, there were still fine netsuke artist-carvers in Japan, and they continued to carve netsuke and instruct young carvers. Their netsuke sales suffered because of the poor quality of many of the ‘‘modern" export netsuke, and many carvers turned to making okimono (alcove ornaments), which had begun to find favor with foreigners. Often when an okimono was ordered by a foreigner, a netsuke was submitted as a design model. If it was satisfactory, the carver was asked to make an okimono ten (or more) times netsuke size. The great carvers went more or less underground during this period, as far as netsuke carving was concerned, but they were definitely keeping the centuries-old art alive.

THE CONTEMPORARY PERIOD (c. 1925-present)

By the 1930s, interest in netsuke collecting was showing new life, particularly throughout the United States. This revival was due largely to the illustrated books on netsuke that were being published in English. Also rising in America was a wealthy leisure class that was becoming interested in art collecting and in world travel, especially to the Orient.

Some good contemporary netsuke began to reach foreign markets and were purchased not only by new collectors but also by some of the collectors of antique netsuke who recognized the beauty and expert craftsmanship of these modern pieces. Mediocre and even poor netsuke were also being exported from Japan—and still are—but the first-rank living carvers were beginning to gain some recognition.

And then came World War II. Carvers either went into military service or worked in factories. Ivory could not be imported, so most of the few netsuke that were being carved in leisure hours were made from wood or old billiard balls. It was close to 1950 before contemporary netsuke were once again reaching American and European dealers.

Today, netsuke by top contemporary carvers are sought by a small group of enthusiastic buyers all over the world, and some collectors are specializing in the work of individual carvers. Perhaps more than in any other Japanese art form, contemporary netsuke remain true to the old tradition in subject matter, material, and craftsmanship. There is, however, an originality and freshness in design that delights collectors, as well as tourists who may buy one or two as symbolic mementos of Japan.