{"meta":{"version":"2.1","_links":{"self":{"href":"https://api.vam.ac.uk/v2/object/O76242"},"collection_page":{"href":"https://collections.vam.ac.uk/item/O76242/"}},"images":{"_primary_thumbnail":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AT7136/full/!100,100/0/default.jpg","_iiif_image":"https://framemark.vam.ac.uk/collections/2006AT7136/","_alt_iiif_image":[],"imageResolution":"high","_images_meta":[{"assetRef":"2006AT7136","copyright":"© Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false},{"assetRef":"2017KC9306","copyright":"©Victoria and Albert Museum, London","sensitiveImage":false}]},"see_also":{"_iiif_pres":"https://iiif.vam.ac.uk/collections/O76242/manifest.json","_alt_iiif_pres":[]}},"record":{"systemNumber":"O76242","accessionNumber":"W.356-1922","objectType":"Inrō","titles":[],"summaryDescription":"The <i>inro</i> 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 <i>inro</i>  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 <i>inro</i> are rectangular with gently curving sides. This example has a squared rectangular shape. Here, the cord passes through metal loops on either side of the body. <i>Inro</i> usually had hidden cord channels.\r\nThis is a rare early example that shows a Dutchman with a matchlock gun. Europeans arrived in Japan in 1543. The Japanese were fascinated by their physical appearance, their customs, their possessions and their superior technology. The matchlock guns of the Portuguese, for example, were the first firearms the Japanese had ever seen. This <i>inro</i>, made sometime during the 17th century, reflects these Western influences of the time. It also reflects an unusual combination of materials in keeping with the non-Japanese subject.","physicalDescription":"Inrō decorated on one side with a man holding a matlock gun, and on the other with a hanging monkey catching a crab","artistMakerPerson":[{"name":{"text":"Unknown","id":"A1848"},"association":{"text":"","id":""},"note":""}],"artistMakerOrganisations":[],"artistMakerPeople":[],"materials":[{"text":"ivory","id":"AAT11857"},{"text":"tortoise-shell","id":"AAT11837"},{"text":"egg-shell","id":"AAT191893"}],"techniques":[{"text":"carving","id":"AAT53149"}],"materialsAndTechniques":"Tortoiseshell, carved ivory and crackled eggshell","categories":[{"text":"Accessories","id":"THES48998"},{"text":"Containers","id":"THES48972"}],"styles":[{"text":"Edo period","id":"AAT106643"}],"collectionCode":{"text":"EAS","id":"THES48596"},"images":["2006AT7136","2017KC9306"],"imageResolution":"high","galleryLocations":[{"current":{"text":"004","id":"THES398951"},"free":"","case":"","shelf":"","box":""}],"partTypes":[[{"text":"Inro","id":""}]],"contentWarnings":[{"apprise":"","note":""}],"placesOfOrigin":[{"place":{"text":"Japan","id":"x29399"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"productionDates":[{"date":{"text":"18th century","earliest":"1700-01-01","latest":"1799-12-31"},"association":{"text":"made","id":"x28654"},"note":""}],"associatedObjects":[],"creditLine":"Pfungst Gift","dimensions":[{"dimension":"Height","value":"11.4","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Width","value":"5.1","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""},{"dimension":"Circumference","value":"2.5","unit":"cm","qualifier":"","date":{"text":"","earliest":null,"latest":null},"part":"","note":""}],"dimensionsNote":"","marksAndInscriptions":[],"objectHistory":"","historicalContext":"","briefDescription":"Inrō decorated with a gunman and a monkey, tortoiseshell, carved ivory, and crackled eggshell, Japan, 18th century","bibliographicReferences":[],"production":"","productionType":{"text":"","id":""},"contentDescription":"","contentPlaces":[],"associatedPlaces":[],"contentPerson":[],"associatedPerson":[],"contentOrganisations":[],"associatedOrganisations":[],"contentPeople":[],"associatedPeople":[],"contentEvents":[],"associatedEvents":[],"contentOthers":[{"text":"gun","id":"AAT16023"},{"text":"figure, male","id":"x31047"},{"text":"monkey","id":"x30136"},{"text":"crab","id":"x30102"}],"contentConcepts":[],"contentLiteraryRefs":[],"galleryLabels":[{"text":"The ‘red-haired people’ (kōmōjin), as the Dutch were known, aroused great curiosity in Japan. Although very few people ever saw a Dutchman, these exotic foreigners and the exciting goods they brought with them became part of Japanese popular culture. This ‘taste for Holland’, Oranda shumi, was seen in fashionable accessories such as inrō and netsuke. Fabrics from India were highly prized and very costly. Many were cut into small pieces and used for tobacco and pipe cases. \r\n","date":{"text":"29/02/2020","earliest":"2020-02-29","latest":"2020-02-29"}}],"partNumbers":["W.356-1922"],"accessionNumberNum":"356","accessionNumberPrefix":"W","accessionYear":1922,"otherNumbers":[],"copyNumber":"","aspects":["WHOLE"],"assets":[],"recordModificationDate":"2025-07-31","recordCreationDate":"2003-03-07","availableToBook":false}}