Inro (Medicine Case) 菊花蝶象嵌印籠

Japanese follows English.　英語の後に日本語が続きます。

This white case, 6cm long and 3cm wide, is an "inro" or medicine case with chrysanthemum and butterfly design made in the 19th century in Japan. This is Shibayama inlay, a lacquer art form distinguished by high relief carved inlays made from shell, coral, tortoiseshell, and ivory.

Inro (medicine case) with chrysanthemum and butterfly design
菊花蝶象嵌印籠

Gorgeous medicine case! 豪華！

"Inro" is no longer used and is known as art or an ID of Mitsukuni Tokugawa (1628 - 1701) in "Mito Kōmon," a Japanese drama of the early Edo period. 

In the drama, Mitsukuni, a former vice-shogun, travels across the country with his followers in the guise of a retired owner of an apparel store in the Niigata prefecture. He finds in every episode injustice perpetrated by corrupt officials, wealthy merchants and/or gangsters and punishes these bad guys using his inro with mallow design, which reveals his identity. The use of mallow design for a family crest was only allowed for the Tokugawa family during the Edo period.

This drama has a very famous line, "Can’t you see this family crest of mallow on the inro!! This is former vice-shogun Mitsukuni Tokugawa! Bow your heads! Down on your knees!" This is so famous in Japan (and funny😁 to me) that even those who've never watched this show must recognize this line.

Inro itself is just a medicine case, generally used with netsuke as shown in the picture below I found at Tokyo National Museum. Now with this easy-to-understand drawing, you see how to wear an inro and a netsuke! 

How to wear inro and netsuke 印籠と根付の使い方

Japanese no longer use inro or netsuke in daily lives, but they are the beautiful embodiment of the spirit of Japanese manufacturing elevated to the level of art. I hope as many people as possible, not only Japanese but others, to appreciate their beauty and craftsmanship!!

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「菊花蝶象嵌印籠 根付線刻銘『芝山作』（19世紀）」です。「菊花蝶象嵌印籠」はまだ理解できるのですが「芝山って何？」と思って調べたところ、「レリーフ状の彫刻と象嵌を特徴とした華やかな装飾技法」だとのこと。華やかかつ精巧です。

印籠といって思い出すのは何といっても「水戸黄門」。印籠というとそのイメージしかなかったのですが、先日たまたま、東京国立博物館で印籠と根付の使い方を描いた絵を発見！言葉より絵で見ると一発です。

印籠にせよ根付にせよ、職人の技術の粋の結晶であり、「日本のものづくり精神」を体現したもの。その美しさにいつも頭が下がります。

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