The netsuke being produced today have no functional restrictions in design. A protruding cane, a lacy leaf or flower, or sharp stylized lines are no longer precluded and often lend a charm and freshness to the design. However, the netsuke purist may say, “This is not a netsuke. It is a piece of miniature sculpture. It hasn't the feeling of a netsuke.” This is an ongoing argument among collectors. Contemporary netsuke carvers also differ on this point. The majority of them adhere to the old fundamental concept in design. Their netsuke are smooth and rounded and have a “good feeling." Others take advantage of the freedom from functional restrictions and produce what actually is sculpture in miniature, or a diminutive okimono, sometimes not even adding the himotoshi, long the hallmark of a netsuke.
Subject matter will be discussed at greater length in another chapter. In general, however, today's netsuke, like the antique examples, draw from the natural world of flowers, insects, and animals, as well as the vast reservoir of Japanese folklore, history, literature, religion, theater, customs, and social life. Perhaps because of the taste of Western collectors, many animal subjects are found among contemporary netsuke (Figs. 4-23, 25, 26). The legendary figures in contemporary netsuke tend to be somewhat more representational than the exaggerated versions—“grotesqueries," as they are sometimes called—so often found among antique netsuke.
Occasionally a contemporary netsuke bordering on the abstract can be found. “Stylized” might be a more accurate description of this type, or “netsuke with deformations," to use an expression of one of the contemporary carvers (Figs. 26-28). Stylized or abstract, they remain distinctly Japanese.
Although color on wood goes back to the early netsuke of Shuzan (mid-eighteenth century), extensive use of color on ivory began in the twentieth century with Ichiro, who, like many Japanese craftsmen and artists in various fields, was trained as a painter. The general use of color and stain in the netsuke being produced today adds a decorative and vital touch that accentuates the design and helps to bring the little figures to life.
When viewing representative collections of first-rate antique and contemporary netsuke, a person unfamiliar with netsuke art usually remarks that the contemporary netsuke figures seem happier, more pleasing, and less strained and distorted than most antique figures. Some of the carvers today explain this difference by pointing out that in earlier days the carvers were members of the lowest social class. During the Edo and Meiji periods, they felt unhappy and oppressed, and their struggles were often reflected in their art. Today, there is no class distinction. First-rank carvers are beginning to receive recognition for their work, and life in general for the carver and his family is fuller and happier. And undoubtedly the fact that amateur collectors are usually more attracted to pleasing, beautiful netsuke has also had an influence on the basic design attributes of contemporary netsuke figures.
With a lower standard of living as well as lower living costs, carvers of old found that time was of little value. Often months were spent by a carver in producing a masterpiece. Today, because of economic demands and the pressure of unfilled dealers' orders, there is usually a time limitation on the contemporary carver. He feels that this is compensated for by the opportunity he has to develop his talent through study and through the exchange of ideas and techniques. The carvers of antique netsuke often had their own special techniques or workmanship devices, which were closely guarded secrets. This is no longer true. Today there are few, if any, secrets in the techniques of netsuke carving and coloring.
A greater variety of subjects and materials is to be found in antique netsuke than in the contemporary pieces, largely because there are comparatively few first-rate netsuke being produced today. No area of design has been neglected, however, and a specialized collector can always find his own particular subject preference in contemporary netsuke.
Pages from Hokusai's sketchbooks and others, as well as crumpled and worn sketches done by a teacher or a teacher's teacher, can be found in the work-rooms of many contemporary carvers. Bookshelves contain volumes on Japanese history and religion, the Noh and the Kabuki dramas, folklore, and legend. An unspoken commitment seems to exist among living artist-carvers to preserve the netsuke as an art form that unlocks the treasures of the whole gamut of Japanese life and culture.
MATERIALS
When decorative, carved netsuke became accessories of attire early in the seventeenth century, the material generally used was wood: cypress (hinoki), which was soft; boxwood (tsuge), a very hard wood used for more detailed, intricate carving; and many other varieties, including bamboo, yew, black persimmon, mulberry, tea shrub, cherry, and pine. Some carvers also selected Chinese ebony, camphor, and other imported woods.
Ivory was first used by netsuke carvers during the latter part of the seven-teenth century, when the shamisen became a popular musical instrument among all classes. Its plectrum was made of ivory, and after the plectrum material had been taken from the elephant tusk, the remnants were made available to netsuke carvers. The fact that these pieces were three-sided accounts for the somewhat triangular shape of many of the netsuke of that period. The better carvers shunned these remnants from the shamisen factories and used only the finest quality of ivory (tokata), preferring Siamese and Annamese tusks. Although elephant ivory was the first choice, netsuke carvers also used boar and hippopotamus tusks as well as those of the narwhal and the walrus, often called marine ivories. A highly prized but very rare type of ivory, reddish orange and yellow in color, was that which came from the protuberance around the huge bill of a tropical bird called the hornbill.
Horn was a frequently used material. Staghorn, which actually was antler rather than horn, was preferred, but netsuke carved from water-buffalo and rhinoceros horn are in existence, although rare.
During the early years when netsuke carving was largely a side industry of craftsmen in other art areas, or a hobby of dilettante carvers, many materials—and combinations of materials—were used: agate, jade, coral, amber, marble, porcelain, various metals (usually combined with wood or ivory in the bun-shaped netsuke called kagamibuta), woven reeds, and lacquer. As the demand for netsuke increased and netsuke carving became a vocation for many carvers, the variety of materials decreased, and most of the netsuke produced in the nineteenth century were of wood or ivory.
With the end of the netsuke as a functional part of Japanese attire and its emergence as an export and collector's item, ivory became the popular material for these little art objects. This continued until the World War II years, when luxury materials like ivory were not available. Most of the carvers were then either in military service or working in factories, and the few netsuke carved in their spare time were fashioned in wood.
Today there are not over two or three netsuke artist-carvers who work exclusively in wood, although several who generally carve in ivory make an occasional wood netsuke. It would be safe to say, however, that over eighty percent of contemporary netsuke are ivory. Mother-of-pearl, semiprecious stones, and bits of gold and other metals are sometimes used for inlay and decorative purposes. Stain and color are applied quite extensively and always by the artist himself.
First-rank carvers are always concerned about the quality of their netsuke ivory. Fine-grained, lustrous ivory has a tactile quality sought and enjoyed by collectors. Even in stained or colored netsuke, the crossing, reticulated lines of fine ivory are usually distinguishable.
The greater portion of ivory imported into Japan today comes from the Congo, although much also comes from other African areas—Kenya, Zanzibar, Tanganyika, Uganda, South Africa, Mozambique, Zambia, and Nigeria. Ivory from the Congo is the hardest of African ivory, but ivory from India, Thailand, and Cambodia is still harder. Since India and Thailand are now protecting their elephants, ivory from those countries is sold only locally and is no longer exported. It should also be noted that under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 the United States cooperates with the international community in protecting animals threatened with extinction and that any ivory netsuke shipped to or from Japan must be accompanied by a guarantee that the netsuke is made of ivory from an elephant legally killed in the country of origin, which country must be named in the guarantee. The harder ivory is preferred by most netsuke carvers, but soft ivory can be used for fifteen-or sixteen-inch okimono.