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 that grows mainly in East Asia. After processing, it is applied in many thin layers to a base material. The craft of lacquering, as well as making inro bodies, is highly complex, time-consuming and expensive. This example is decorated with women planting rice inhiramakie (‘flat sprinkled picture’) lacquer and takamakie (‘high sprinkled picture’) lacquer. Makie (sprinkled picture) is the most characteristic of Japanese lacquer techniques. It is a generic term for a number of related techniques. They all make use of gold, silver or coloured powders that are sprinkled on to wet lacquer before it hardens.
During the Edo period (1615-1868), the subject matter of Japanese art was marked by a strong interest in scenes from everyday life, such as this one of peasants toiling in the fields. It also appealed to the Japanese love of nature and the changing seasons.