Netsuke at BM

One of the free displays at The British Museum in London over the summer is Dressed to impress: netsuke and Japanese men’s fashion. You'll find it in Room 3 (CLICK). Shown is a Sleeping Mouse Netsuke by Masanao of Kyoto from the late 1700s. It's too cute to be a rat. Netsuke are miniature sculptures, often intricately carved, which were fashionable status symbols for Japanese men in the Edo period (1615–1868). These toggles allowed a pouch to be hung from a kimono sash (obi).