Exhibition

Featured: Netsuke

September 19, 2025

Starting September 19, the Japan Museum SieboldHuis will present a new selection of netsuke in the Panorama Room. These 18th- and 19th-century miniature carvings explore how humans and animals were often closely connected in fables, ancient stories, and Taoist traditions.

The presentation features 31 works from the wonderful donation of 280 netsuke (belt toggles) by Ms. E.Y. de Koster and Ms. G. Zellentin. The collection includes beautifully carved figures, showing everything from plants and animals to Buddhist and Taoist gods, craftsmen, Dutch people, and characters from Japanese and Chinese stories. This generous gift now makes up the largest part of the netsuke collection at SieboldHuis.

In the Edo period (1603-1868), Japanese people usually wore kimonos. These garments have no pockets, so where could they keep their belongings? The solution was the netsuke (belt button): a cord was tied to an item, threaded under the wide cloth belt (obi), and attached to the netsuke, which hung above the belt. Originally intended as simple, practical objects, they soon became fashionable accessories.

We are also featuring a beautiful photograph by Dutch photographer Charlotte Dumas, showing the young girl Yuzu riding her horse Urara, a native Japanese breed. The photo was part of Dumas’ 2018 exhibition The Horse in the Gourd at the SieboldHuis and was kindly donated to the museum by the artist.