The netsuke is a toggle. Japanese men used netsuke to suspend various pouches and containers from their sashes by a silk cord. Netsuke had to be small and not too heavy, yet bulky enough to do the job. They needed to be compact with no sharp protruding edges, yet also strong and hardwearing. Above all they had to have the means of attaching the cord. In this example, there are a pair of holes (himotoshi) on the bottom of the sandal. Although netsuke were made in a variety of forms, the most widely appreciated is the katabori (shape carving). This is a three-dimensional carving, such as this netsuke.
From the 18^th century onwards, many more makers signed their netsukes. This example is signed Masatoshi. Masatoshi was an artist from the Nagoya school who specialised in carving inro and netsuke. This netsuke illustrates a Shojo, mythical creatures with long red hair and a love of drinking sake (rice-wine). Netsuke artists often depicted Shojo as either asleep or in the midst of drinking from very large sake cups.