"Netsuke" is a mini sculpture attached to the edge of an inro or cigarette holder, which was very popular in the Edo period.It used to be one of the popular souvenirs of visiting Ise, so Ise is still known as a place with many netsuke masters (craftsmen who carve netsuke) in Japan.The director, Tadamine Nakagawa, is a skilled netsuke master who has been fascinated by Ise netsuke for 40 years.About 80 works by Mr. Nakagawa are lined up in the workshop (Ise Netsuki Sculpture Museum) in the western suburbs of Ise City.In addition, among the boxwood called "wooden jewels", the work of carving delicate patterns such as the zodiac signs and the Seven Lucky Gods and finely polishing them using the "Asama boxwood" unique to Ise, which is particularly sticky and firm You can observe the process until the netsuke is completed.
