Okimono in the Form of a Reclining Boar LACMA AC1998

is a Japanese term meaning "ornament for display; objet d'art; decorative object", typically displayed in a alcove or altar.

Etymology

The Japanese word compounds and .. The ''

Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...

'' defines the

loanword A loanword (also loan word or loan-word) is a word at least partly assimilated from one language (the donor language) into another language. This is in contrast to cognates, which are words in two or more languages that are similar because th ...

as "A standing ornament or figure, esp. one put in a guest room of a house", and records the first usage in 1886 by

William Anderson William Anderson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * William Anderson (artist) (1757–1837), painter of marine and historical paintings * William Anderson (theatre) (1868–1940), Australian stage entrepreneur * William Anderson (1911–1986), ...

.''

'' (2009), CD-ROM edition (v. 4.0). Khalili Collection Japanese Meiji Art M159

Description

An may be a small

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese carving, similar to, but larger than . Unlike , which have a specific purpose, are purely decorative and are displayed in the . An can be made out of wood, ivory, ceramic or metal. One subcategory of is the , an articulated figure often made out of bronze or iron. are normally not larger than a few centimetres. They depict all sorts of animals, mythological beasts, humans, gods, fruit, vegetables and objects, sometimes combined with each other, in all sorts of positions. Sometimes a scene is portrayed as well, either a daily scene or from a story. Anything that could be carved or made into a small object can be used in an . Some were inspired by a group of objects and were supposed to be shown together as an ensemble.

History

During the

Meiji period The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912. The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...

, many were made for export to

the West West is a cardinal direction or compass point. West or The West may also refer to: Geography and locations Global context * The Western world * Western culture and Western civilization in general * The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...

. One of the most renowned artists in the area of metalwork was

Yamada Sōbi Yamada Sōbi (山田宗美) (December 23, 1871 - March 15, 1916) was a Japanese metallurgic artist. Biography He was born in Kaga, Ishikawa. His given name was Chozaburo. He was the son of Yamada Munemitsu (?-1908), a ninth-generation armorer, ...

(1871-1916), who made pieces out of a single sheet of metal.

References

External links

Netsuke: masterpieces from the Metropolitan Museum of Art
an exhibition catalog from The Metropolitan Museum of Art (fully available online as PDF), which contains many example
English online dictionary definition, related information, and various visual examples
Japanese metalwork Japanese pottery Japanese woodwork Japanese words and phrases {{japan-art-stub