Netsuke (Japanese:根付) are miniature sculptures that were invented in 17th-century Japan to serve a practical function (the two Japanese characters ne+tsuke mean “root” and “to attach”). Netsukes are toggles designed to suspend objects such as small bags and lacquer boxes from the obi (sash), which is worn with the kimono. The original netsuke are thought to have evolved from the use of natural objects such as shells and roots and slowly developed into intricately carved sculptural objects.

During the Edo period (1603-1868), government officials from the Samurai class routinely set laws that regulated what clothing and luxury items people could own and wear. As a result, merchants and townspeople usually wore clothes of dark silk or cotton with simple patterns. To compensate, they spend their wealth on lavish accessories such as small containers (inrō) and minutely carved toggles (netsuke), partially hidden in the folds of their clothing. The containers were often used to carry small personal items such as pills and seals.