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 props for a play of the No theatre in hiramakie (‘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. This example also has an unusual striped brown lacquer ground.
From the 1700s onwards, many artists signed the inro they made. This example is signed ‘Toyo, aged 60 years’. Iizuka Toyo was a well-known lacquerer who worked during the late 1700s. Many of his descendants and pupils used the same name, this example being the work of a later master.