Contemporary Wood-Carved Netsuke

As kimono culture flourished during the Edo period (1603-1868), netsuke, small carvings, were created as toggles to hold pouches and cases containing tobacco and medicine in place on the obi sash worn with the kimono. What began as functional pieces to prevent those little suspended containers from falling to the ground evolved into small but highly creative carvings. Today, classic netsuke have gained international acclaim as remarkably detailed carvings. Contemporary netsuke incorporating new subject matter and approaches have also been attracting attention. This traveling exhibition showcases contemporary netsuke carved of wood by living netsuke carvers in Japan, plus netsuke created by contemporary artists such as Izumi Kato. It also includes wooden netsuke that visitors may touch. Through this exhibition, visitors will appreciate the sophisticated skills and playful minds behind contemporary netsuke as well as its formal beauty and contemporaneity.

Exhibition Adviser
Taishu Komatsu (Director of Eisei Bunko Museum)

Committee member
Bishu Saito (First Chairperson of International Netsuke Carvers' Association)
Yuushi Tanida(Chief Curator of the Tobacco and Salt Museum)
Masanori Watanabe(Former President of the Japan Netsuke Society)
Masanobu Ito(Former Managing Director, Arts and Culture Department, The Japan Foundation)

Contemporary netsuke carvers and artists
[Contemporary Netsuke]
Tomoe Ikeda, Takeshi Inoue, Muhou Ishii, Tadatsuna Ito, Tomoyuki Iwata, Mansei Uehara, Zanmai Onosato, Shion Omagari, Mitsukuni Kagami, Asuka Kajiura, Rumine Kandachi, Ryo Kitazumi, Dosai Kudo, Motomasa Kurita, Akira Kuroiwa, Ryushi Komada, Masahiro Saito, Bishu Saito, Masami Sakai, Hideyuki Sakurai, Kouen Sawai, Rin Suzuki, Bokusen Takagi, Toshiki Tanaka, Tetsumi Dannohara, Yuzan Tatara, Shokou Terato, Douho Michiura, Mabu Nakakaji, Tadamine Nakagawa, Tohei Nakagawa, Hiroaki Nakanishi, Shinya Nagashima, Taisei Nakahata, Kazuaki Nakamura, Koma Hitomi, TanetoshiI Hiraga, Kazu Shogen, Yoka Mukaida, Mokuchu Yatsugi, Mushu Yamazaki, Yoji Yamada

[Contemporary Art]
Rieko Otake, Izumi Kato, Koji Tanada, Yoshimasa Tsuchiya

Logo of Contemporary Wood-Carved Netsuke

  • 2024 first semester Mexico *TBC
  • September 15 - December 16, 2023
    The Japan Foundation, Toronto (Toronto, Canada)
  • August 5 - September 2, 2023
    L'Artothèque (Montreal, Canada)
  • June 15 - July 9, 2023
    Information and Culture Centre of Japan, Embassy of Japan in Canada (Ottawa, Canada)
  • January 20 - May 14, 2023
    Oriental Museum, Durham University (Durham, U.K.)
  • November 13 - December 3, 2022
    History of Science Centre, GUtech (Muscat, Oman)
  • August 5 - October 2, 2022
    Slovak National Museum (Bratislava, Slovakia)
  • July 4 - 24, 2022
    National Art Gallery (Dakar, Senegal)
  • December 4 - December 29, 2021
    HUA CUI ART CENTER (Shanghai, China)
  • November 4 - November 24, 2021
    Jilin Provincial Arts and Crafts Museum (Changchun, Jilin Province, China)
  • August 27 - September 17, 2021
    Gallery Central (Perth, Australia)
  • July 9 - August 6, 2021
    Bunbury Regional Gallery (Bunbury, Australia)
  • June 4 - 26, 2021
    The Japan Foundation, Sydney (Sydney, Australia)

Photo of Bishu Saito's Work
Bishu Saito Falcon 1975

Photo of Motomasa Kurita's Work
Motomasa Kurita Auspicious Sign 2017

Photo of Bokusen Takagi's Work
Bokusen Takagi Skull 2014

Photo of Shinya Nagashima's Work
Shinya Nagashima DRAGON x QUEEN 2017

Photo of Ryushi Komada's Work
Ryushi Komada Woman Entertainer 2017

Photo of Zanmai Onosato's Work
Zanmai Onosato A Tengu’s Nose 2017

Photo of Hiroaki Nakanishi's Work
Hiroaki Nakanishi Mindscape 2007

Photo of Izumi Kato's Work
Izumi Kato Untitled 2017

Banner of Contemporary Wood-Carved Netsuke

What We Do