The inro is a container made up of tiers. Japanese men used them because the traditional Japanese garment, the kimono, had no pockets. From the late 1500s onwards, Japanese men wore the inro suspended from their sash by a silk cord and a netsuke (toggle). They originally used it to hold their seal and ink or a supply of medicines. However, it rapidly became a costly fashion accessory of little or no practical use. Most inro are rectangular with gently curving sides.
Many inro were made of lacquer because it was highly suitable for storing medicines. Lacquer is the sap from the tree Rhus verniciflua that grows mainly in East Asia. The sap was processed, and the lacquer worker would then apply it in many thin layers to the base material. This example is one of a group of quite early inro, which are typically decorated with carved tortoiseshell. In this example, the maker has also placed the tortoiseshell over small pieces of gold foil that highlight certain parts of the design. The distinctive use of tortoiseshell in this group is usually combined with black and gold lacquer fern scrolls.