Just an inch or two tall, each netsuke can take up to two months to carve. The mini sculptures are used in traditional Japanese dress. See the full story: n.pr/2nWSqdh | NPR

Ornately carved netsuke toggles were once a key part of Japanese fashion and were made in all sorts of elaborate designs. Why were skeletons popular subjects? Find out in this short, one-minute video. Carved wood netsuke, 19th century Japan. #AshmoleanfromHome #AshmoleanMuseum | Ashmolean Museum

Netsuke is an ornamented piece which was used in Japan, 16th century to attach a medicine box, pipe, tobacco pouch to obi of a Japanese man’s traditional dress. Ne meaning ‘a root’ and Tsuke meaning ‘to fasten’ were originally made of shells, gourds and tree roots in the 16th century. However, by 18th century ivory carved netsuke started gaining attraction and developed as a minor sculpture art form of Japan. Netsuke figurines were both functional and aesthetic and they were representative of a