An inro is a container made up of tiers. From the late 16th century, Japanese men wore an inro suspended from their sash by a silk cord and a netsuke (toggle) because the traditional Japanese garment, the kimono, had no pockets. They were originally used to hold their owner’s seal and ink or a supply of medicines. However, inro rapidly became costly fashion accessories of little or no practical use. Most inro are rectangular with gently curving sides.

Lacquer was most commonly used in the manufacture of inro since it was highly suitable for storing medicines. Lacquer is the sap from the tree Rhus verniciflua, which grows mainly in East Asia. After processing, it is applied in many thin layers to a base material. The craft of lacquering is highly complex, time-consuming and expensive. This example is decorated in hiramakie (‘flat sprinkled picture’) lacquer. Makie is a generic term for a number of related techniques that all make use of gold, silver or coloured powders sprinkled onto wet lacquer before it hardens.

The subject of this inro is a crescent moon and susuki grasses, both of which are associated with the autumn in Japan. Autumn is considered a good time to view the moon and susuki are one of the seven plants of autumn. Such an inro, therefore, would have been highly suitable for wearing during the autumn months.