Why a Booktrail?
1870s onwards: Set in Paris, Vienna and Tokyo, this is the story of netsuke. Curious?
The Hare With Amber Eyes: A Hidden Inheritance
What you need to know before your trail
Well if you ever wanted to know what netsuke was, then this is the book for you. They are miniature sculptures which were invented in 17th-century japan. (the two Japanese characters ‘net’ and ‘suke’ mean “root” and “to attach”).
This is the story of de Waal – one of Britain’s most well known potters and his collection of netsuke, inherited from his Uncle.
1870s Paris – the story starts to explain the story of this remarkable collection how de Waal’s finally came to have them. This is a story of a very important collection and a significant part of history and of art and is fascinating for its telling.
Locations
ResetTravel Guide
The world of netsuke – those miniature sculptures which were invented in 17th-century Japan – is something that we had never thought about and had hardly read anything about them.
But this book took us into the world of fascinating and weird facts such as how traditional male Japanese garments had no pockets and so needed something to keep their things. They came up with having small containers hanging on rope around their garment and tied with small carved toggle or netsuke to keep it all tied up together.
Paris
The plush rue de Monceau is at the heart of de Waal’s tour de force: once the home of his great grandfather Charles Ephrussi on whom Proust based his own Charles Swann.
Japan and the Netsuke
The Tokyo National Museum is mentioned for the Netsuke collection there. This is where the story and the objects originate from.
To see the netsuke in the UK – The Horniman Museum in London
Where Next?
