netsuke

American  

[net-skee, -skey, ne-tsoo-ke] / ˈnɛt ski, -skeɪ, ˈnɛ tsʊˈkɛ /

noun

1. (in Japanese art) a small figure of ivory, wood, metal, or ceramic, originally used as a buttonlike fixture on a man's sash, from which small personal belongings were hung.

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netsuke British  

/ ˈnɛtsʊkɪ /

noun

1. (in Japan) a carved toggle, esp of wood or ivory, originally used to tether a medicine box, purse, etc, worn dangling from the waist

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Etymology

Origin of netsuke

1880–85; < Japanese, equivalent to ne root + tsuke (earlier tuke ( y ) attach

Example Sentences

His research took him to the family’s ancestral home in Odessa; to Belle-Epoque Paris; and to the Palais Ephrussi in Vienna, where the netsuke resided until Austria fell under Nazi rule.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

The titular “hare with the amber eyes” in Edmund de Waal’s memoir is a netsuke, a tiny Japanese carving intended as a fastener for use with a kimono.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

Only the netsuke were salvaged, hidden away in a straw mattress by a maid who managed to return them to the family after the war.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2022

So perhaps the main reason to see the show at the Jewish Museum is that 168 of de Waal’s netsuke are in it, including the eponymous white hare with amber eyes.

From Washington Post • Jan. 7, 2022

In addition to his tsubas and prints, Willy had a collection of so-called netsuke, some in boxwood, some in ivory, small, dice-like carvings, representing with remarkable animation all sorts of real and fantastic scenes.

From Atlantis by Seltzer, Adele Szold