![[Netsuke Art is Cool]](netsuke.gif)
Students used English grolleg porcelain clay, dried to leather hard, to carve their netsuke (pronounced netskay). Students started their project with a piece of clay about the size of a golf ball. X-acto knives were used to carve the clay.
Featured in this first section (temporarily) are some of my high school studio art foundation student pieces just completed (March, 2006) and selected for judging by Susan Wraight. Susan is considered one of the foremost contemporary netsuke carvers in the world today.
NOTE: a penny (diameter=2 centimeters) is visible to indicate scale unless otherwise noted.
Caitlin D., grade 9 "portugese stranger"(2 centimeters in height)
Annie L., grade 9 "tree frog" (2 centimeters in height and width)
Jordan L., grade 10 "stalking prey"
Julie P., grade 9 "based on a rat but I changed it to a mouse because their cute."
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Mara B., grade 9 "Baby Owl".
Megan K., grade 9 "My dog".
Patty L., grade 9 "Horse".
Rhimmone S., grade 9 "coiled snake".
Robbie F., grade 9 "Kirin".
Shadi A., grade 10 "bearded figure".
Zara O., grade 12, "coiled snake".
The winner will receive a prize and certificate of achievement.
The following pieces are student work from previous years.
Student artwork pictured actual size.
"The monkey is the animal symbol for the ninth year of the oriental zodiac. The monkey represents a time from about 3 to 5 PM, western time. It is considered very fortunate to be born in the year of the monkey because it is the same year as Hideyoshi, the monkey faced adventurer. A netsuke artist might be making fun of the creator and collector of the work, by carving a monkey". Jeff W., gr.10
"The legend of the the hare says that the hare have preformed the tasks of keeping the moon clean. People who are born in the year of the rabbit are very tactful and conservative in nature yet they make good gamblers. This rabbit is made out of wood." (Jackie's is made out of porcelain clay)
Jackie K., gr. 9
"Comic Mask, signed Hojitsuo. Mid 19th Century. Height 4.6cm. This is probably a model of one of the masks used in the comic interludes to the No drama called Kyogen."
Mandi H., gr. 10
"The Japanese played many ghost games, including the telling of the Hyaku monogatri (a hundred grisly tales). The short tales are told at night in a room lit with one hundred candles. As a candle is extinguished after each story, darkness slowly invades. A ghost is said to appear as the last candle is put out.
In one ghost story, the true love of the famous painter Okyo dies and he deeply mourns her. One night her restless spirit comes to him in a drea. Unable to get her image out of his mind, he paints her portrait. It is of such haunting beauty that it sets her spirit free.
Ghosts (yurei) are depicted with long hair, becokoning hands, loose flowing clothing, and wraithlike ending of their bodies. Tsuge (boxwood) was the most common of the many kinds of wood used in netsuke carving because of its close grain and hardness."
"The snake is wrapping itself around a garden hoe, looking at a frog that will maybe soon be it's dinner. I found that in the Japanese culture, the snake was believed to be very adept at negotiating difficult situations and that they were a bit reclusive. It is also the sixth sign of the zodiac. Its time is from 9 to 11 a.m. western time. It also represents the Japanese goddesse Benten, the goddess of music and art. She, who is the only female in the seven gods of good fortune, often plays the lute.
Snakes appear in many Japanese sayings as well. The frog and the snake are both part of a story called san-sukumi, or the three who are afraid of each other. The third animal is the snail, who can be eaten by the frog, who can be eaten by the snake, but the snail is poisonous that kills the snake when he eats the frog.
"Rats are common netsuke animals. One reason is because they are zodiac animals and another reason is because they are associated with the Daikoku the god of wealth. The rat was a favorite subject of the Yamada school."
Tim F., gr. 10
"This netsuke was made at the Hirado kilns in Kyushu of fine porcelain clay. The juxtaposition of insect (a spider), and fruit (an eggplant), is a favorite theme of netsuke carvers."
Brendan F., gr. 10
" 18th or19th century. This is a cluster of honshimeji (lyophyllum shimeji), an edible mushroom which grows in pinewood in mid-October. Mushrooms usually represent a symbol of maleness. This one is made out of clay. "
Tiffany G., gr.9
"The monkey is the animal symbol for the ninth year of the Oriental Zodiac. The monkey represents the period between three and five p.m. in Western time. To be born in the year of the monkey is fortunate because it is the same year as the birth of Hideyoshi-the 'monkey-faced adventurer' who was born in the monkey year and who succeeded in raising himself from a low-born position to that of administrator of the Empire with the title Taiko, or Great Prince."
Michelle R.
"Netsukes were mostly worn with kimonos during the 1600-1868. They became customary for men to wear netsuke made from ivory. Sometimes a master carver would use wood or fruit pits or walnut shell. I chose to model mine after a No theatrical mask"
Kathleen T.
"Daruma is the Japanese rendering of Bodhidharma. He was the first Chinese patriarch of Zen Buddhism. He is suppost to be in a cave because he meditated in a cave for nine years".Nana korobi-yaoki (six times down - seven times up) which loosely may be interpreted to mean never give up.
Tom M., gr.12
"The mushroom was a popular subject for netsuke because its two surfaces, each with a different texture, allowed the artist to display his technical skill. In this piece the upper surface with its simple curves and smooth undulations contrasts with the sharply delineated ribbed underside. The chrysanthemums carved on the undersurface of the fungus, accompanied by a frog, suggest autumn and the approaching cool weather."
Stephanie L., gr. 10
"Netsukes were representative of their owner. My netsuke was of my pug dog. The pug has a unique face and a small, compact body. Also during the carving period my own pug dog had to be put to sleep." Barbara O., gr.11
"Netsukes symbolize something important. My netsuke is of a hippo, my favorite animal."
Emily H., gr. 11.
"Turtle Group, Wood, 2.7 cm. height, signed Tomokazu. Tomokazu uses animals of the zodiac; singly and in pairs. He worked exclusively in wood, chiefly boxwood, which he normally stained a rich medium brown. He tries to make his sculptures as realistic as possible, so this turtle group is typical of the artist."
Elise A., gr. 9.
Comedian, Japanese, with Chinese, and European elements. This scupture has a flat back, so it is easy to wear on a belt or adapted to a necklace."
Chuck B., gr. 9
"This netsuke has three turtles as part of it. I believe that the turtles were part of the zodiac, but other than that I don't believe that the turtles have any specific purpose other than somebody liked them or they were made out of tortoise shell." Josh M., gr. 10
"To dream of a snake is a good omen. They were worshipped in early Shinto rites. Later, they became associated with anger and jealousy ("female" passions). People born under the snake are very vain, but they have great empathy for others. The original was carved by Sessai. It is made of wood and is 3.8 cm. wide."
Eleanor J., gr. 9
"My Netsuke is one of a Kirin, originally carved of wood. It was carved by Tametaka - or signed, at least. The Kirin is a sign of virtue - it is very caring, and when it takes a step, it harms not a creature. It moves without a sound. The Kirin is equivalent to a unicorn of western culture, and it is rare, appearing as a lucky omen, to a very lucky few."
Ria J., gr. 9
"Buddha, signed: Tokoku. Much of his work was inlay and color. Images generally appear in low relief. Tokoku lived in the 1800's in Tokyo. There were three generations of netsuke carvers named Tokoku. Each had a different color seal: 1st-gold, 2nd-silver, 3rd-red."
Roz L., gr. 12
"Sandal Maker: The sandal maker is seated in a position that many Japanese crafstmen sat in to produce or make products. The sitting posture gives a solid base. The hands, fingers, and toes, played an important role in craft making. In this Netsuke the craftsman is looping the string of a sandal around his toe."
Brian S., gr. 9
"Boar sleeping by a stone, by Masatsugu. It is one of the twelve zodiac signs. In the second half of the 19th Century. Masatsugu is perhaps the most famous of all netsuke carvers, known for his flawless work."
Lauren R., gr. 9
"The turtle that I made was originally carved out of Ivory by the artist Rantei. Most of his carvings were of animals. Sometimes on his carvings Rantei would use a stain or color to show details as animal markings and shell tints. Rantei was a prolific and versatile artist during the mid-19th Century.
Elizabeth B., gr. 9
"This netsuke was made in the late 18th or early 19th Century out of wood. It is about 3.2 centimeters in height. It is a sculpture of a cluster of noshimejie, which is an inedible mushroom that grows in pine woods in mid-October." Tricia D., gr. 10
"This Netsuke is a portrait of a person selling a homemade pot. He is most likely poor and find it hard to make enough money. He doesn't have a face because he could be anybody. There are millions of poor people in the world. and he represents not just one but all. This is what a netsuke is: a representation."
David C., gr. 9
"Monkey, the artist is Ikkan. The netsuke is carved from wood. Early 19th Century. The Monkey is the symbol for the 9th year of the zodiac. Marriage in this year is considered unlucky. The artist's favorite subjects were rats, dragons, monkeys, and shojos." Dara L., gr. 10
"My netsuke was an idea I had from a past experience. My mom friend and I were walking in the woods looking for wild flowers one night. Both my friend and I were barefoot. We walked along and every couple of steps my friend would stub her toe on a tiny stump. We decided that there were little "stump men" that live under the ground and when you walk by they move the stumps in front of you big toe so you stub it".
Cara W., gr. 12
"It took me about two weeks just to decide what I would do for my netsuke. I searched through all the resource books but it was no use. I was finally inspired to create a netsuke of a saxaphone player, a musician. He encapsulated my love of music. Consequently I invested all my energy in making this piece." Chris T., gr. 11
Subject: Boys practicing sumo wrestling. (picture not available because I had forgotten my netsuke in a box while in another class and it disappeared). "Sumo wrestling has great significance in Japan. Sumo has been practiced in Japan for 2,000 years. The rules of Sumo wrestling is all governed by ancient traditions."
Emily W., gr. 9
Following are other cool web sites about the art form of Netsuke:
Susan Wraight recommends this contemporary carver website.
This website devoted to Q&A and Netsuke research.
Check this one out: The International Netsuke Society!
A fantastic history of Netsuke by the famous Netsuke authority, Ueda Reikichi, translated by Raymond Bushell, whose books I have read!"
Return to Netsuke page