A wooden Japanese Tonkutsu (tobacco case / box) dating from the Taisho period, circa 1912-1926. Wood with inlaid MOP Tonkutsu and Wood Ojime with inlaid Sen coin. Tonksutsu 2.75", Ojime 2". Weight 3 oz. PROVENANCE: A Charleston SC Private Collection. Because traditional Japanese garb lacked pockets, objects were often carried by hanging them from the obi, or sash, in containers known as sagemono (a Japanese generic term for a hanging object attached to a sash). Tonkotsu were boxes, most commonly wood but of many different materials of varying shape, used for holding the finely shredded tobacco that was smoked in the very small bowls of Japanese pipes. They are single compartment lidded vessels with cord runners incorporated so that the ojime could slide down to seal the container. They tend to be of less flattened form than inro. Various inlays and embellishments of shell, horn, hardstone, pottery, ivory, antler, or lacquer designs were popular. The Japanese, both men and women, had been serious pipe smokers since the 16th century, when Portuguese and Spanish traders introduced tobacco from their colonies in America. Tobacco and its paraphernalia had become deeply ingrained into Japanese life at all levels from the ruling samurai class to humble peasants. But traditional Japanese clothing has no pockets, so a specific type of single compartment inro called a tonkotsu had been developed.

good