An Introduction to Netsuke

Earle, Joe

Stationery Office Books

A century ago, the idea of "the economy" didn't exist. Now economics is the supreme ideology of our time, with its own rules and language. The trouble is, most of us can't speak it. This is damaging democracy. Dangerous agendas are hidden inside mathematical wrappers; controversial policies are presented as "proven" by the models of economic "science." Government is being turned over to a publicly unaccountable technocratic elite. The Econocracy reveals that economics is too important to be left to the economists—and shows us what we can do about it.

The Econocracy: On the Perils of Leaving Economics to the Experts

Business & Money

Moran, Cahal

Ward-Perkins, Zach

Economics

Penguin Uk

79 color illustrations/photos of individual netsuke; annotated. From the collection of the Victoria & Albert Museum.

Compton Press

While woven bamboo containers have been common in Asia for thousands of years, it is only in the past 150 years that basketry has become widely regarded as an art form. This stunning book celebrates contemporary Japanese bamboo masters whose breathtakingly beautiful and imaginative new works are changing the definition of basketry.
Focusing on contemporary bamboo artists working in sculptural forms, the book is based on recent interviews and critical analysis. In his compelling and accessible text, Joe Earle argues that today’s bamboo sculpture reaches beyond its craft roots to abandon functionality, while maintaining meticulous attention to the rigorous technical skill on which Japanese basketry was founded. Poised between traditional and contemporary art and drawing inspiration from both, Japanese bamboo art sheds new light on the complex relationship between past and present cultures.

New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters

Arts & Photography

History & Criticism

Japan Society

Tin toys have been made in Japan for more than 100 years, but during World War II their production―and international sales―ended. Almost as soon as the war was over, ingenious manufacturers began to make model Jeeps out of recycled food cans. With the resumption of international trade in 1948, exports of more sophisticated metal toys soared. At the same time, the postwar boom in the United States led to an increasingly automobile-based society―the perfect inspiration for Japan’s gifted toy designers. As leading marques competed to market ever more seductively styled autos to U.S. consumers, Japanese toy manufacturers followed styling trends closely, retooling often to create miniature versions of the latest models; airplanes, spaceships, and other vehicles were also popular.
The Tanaka collection is a treasure-trove of more than 500 immaculate model vehicles, enthusiastically collected over the last 50 years. Buriki offers a lively tour of its highlights, evoking the heady, expansive spirit of the 1950s in both the U.S. and Japan. Its 60 cars, along with prime examples of other modes of transportation, will delight young and old with the quality of their detailing and bright color schemes.

Buriki: Japanese Tin Toys from the Golden Age of the American Automobile: The Yoku Tanaka Collection

This book documents and exhibition of contemporary Japanese artists who are active at the cutting edge of the global fiber-art movement, transforming fabrics into sculptures, pictures, emulations of nature, or even abstract meditations on memory and identity. The materials they use range from silk, cotton, recycled cocoons, antique paper scraps, jute, and hemp to stainless-steel wire and synthetic fiber. Their methods are sometimes traditional, but can also incorporate the latest weaving and dyeing technology, often with the goal of expressing an environmentally conscious green ethic. The thirty artists, including both established figures and newcomers, were selected for Fiber Futures: Japan's Textile Pioneers, an exhibition at New York's Japan Society Gallery. Introductory essays by Hiroko Watanabe, President of International Textile Network, and Gallery Director Joe Earle provide the context for these innovative, beautiful, and sometimes challenging works of art. The catalogue section features artist statements, informative commentary, and lavish photography, much of it commissioned especially by Japan Society. Originally conceived in 2007, Fiber Futures came to fruition after the devastating natural disasters that struck Japan on March 11, 2011, events which give the exhibition and its catalogue added significance. Fiber Futures not only reflects the fecundity of Japanese artistic tradition, but also speaks to the resilience and ingenuity of the Japanese people and their ability to repurpose the past in order to better shape the future.

Fiber Futures: Japan's Textile Pioneers

Watanabe, Hiroko

Decatur proudly proclaims itself a city of “homes, schools, and places of worship.” While that motto might seem to describe any number of small towns, the words accurately capture the essence of Decatur, a place of fine and humble homes, well-regarded schools, and large, active churches. Founded by the Georgia legislature in 1823 to be the county seat of DeKalb County, Decatur took its name from Commodore Stephen Decatur, a U.S. naval hero of the early 1800s. In the years since, Decatur has grown into a busy suburb of neighboring Atlanta, produced Agnes Scott College, and attracted both the Scottish Rite Children’s Hospital and Columbia Theological Seminary. Decatur has been home to fascinating Georgians, including Civil War memoirist Mary Gay and writer Rebecca Latimer Felton, the first woman to be seated as a U.S. senator (if only for a day).

Decatur (Images of America)

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

Netsuke: Fantasy and Reality in Japanese Miniature Sculpture

Netsuke-tiny, exquisitely carved globes or clasps used to secure pouches to the kimono-have long been an obsession for collectors in the West as well as in the East. They depict a wide variety of figures and cultural icons, from marketplace tradesmen to otherworldly beings to revered animals of the Chinese zodiac; representations of the decidedly domestic to the frankly erotic. Unlike earlier books on the subject, Netsuke: Fantasy and Reality in Japanese Miniature Sculpture examines the pieces in the context of Japanese life, detailing the origins of the designs and themes that were carried down through the centuries, evolving and changing over time. Lavishly illustrated with over 500 color photographs, Netsuke is the definitive work on these remarkably minute, endlessly intricate objects.

Decorative Arts & Design

MFA Publications

An elegant and insightful book. --The Art Newspaper Exquisite. --Boston Globe Joe Earle... has enlightened us with new facts associated with the subjects portrayed in netsuke and new insight into the background of this unique world... An excellent, well-written tome and a worthy addition to one's library. --International Netsuke Society Journal Netsuke--tiny sculptures used to secure pouches to the kimono--have long been an obsession for collectors in both East and West. They depict a variety of figures, both domestic and exotic, from marketplace tradesmen to otherworldly beings to perfectly rendered animals. This superbly illustrated, accessibly written volume examines netsuke in the context of Japanese life and details the origins of designs that have evolved through the centuries. It delves into the minds of the artists and explores the question of the objects' use, both functional and symbolic. Featuring 300 netsuke from three world-renowned collections, this is the definitive work on these remarkably minute, endlessly intricate objects.

Crafts, Hobbies & Home

Crafts & Hobbies

As the "soul of the samurai," the sword is famously both the symbol and instrument of Japanese military prowess. Less known, at least in the West, is its role as a fashion accessory or status symbol. And more than the weapon itself, it was the sword's metal fittings--from the hand guard to the small decorative plates on the hilt--that reflected the complexities of samurai life. Some fittings were meant to convey the honor and self-control expected of a samurai while on official duty, while other, more flamboyant ones reflected his leisure-time persona as "man about town." Later, when the wearing of swords spread beyond the samurai class, both the decorative function of the fittings and the variety of their designs sharply increased, leading to some of the most sophisticated and accomplished metalwork ever created. Lethal Elegance presents 150 of these remarkable sword fittings, and is one of the few books in a Western language to focus on the visual presentation, rather than the function or culture of the sword. It discusses the many effects achieved with different alloys, the evolution of fittings in relation to changes in warfare, the symbolism of particular motifs, and standards for connoisseurship. Nearly all these fittings were once owned by trained swordsmen, and the weapons they ornamented could surely inflict fatal wounds. But their extraordinary variety and beauty, lavishly illustrated and carefully presented by Joe Earle, also reveal them as marvels of self-expression and personal style.

Lethal Elegance: Samurai Sword Fittings

Collections, Catalogs & Exhibitions

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Books by Earle, Joe

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Earle, Joe. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

An Introduction to Netsuke

The Econocracy: On the Perils of Leaving Economics to the Experts

An Introduction to Netsuke

New Bamboo: Contemporary Japanese Masters

Buriki: Japanese Tin Toys from the Golden Age of the American Automobile: The Yoku Tanaka Collection

Fiber Futures: Japan's Textile Pioneers

Decatur (Images of America)

Netsuke: Fantasy and Reality in Japanese Miniature Sculpture

Netsuke: Fantasy and Reality in Japanese Miniature Sculpture

Lethal Elegance: Samurai Sword Fittings