This pipe case (kiseruzutsu), would have been hung from its owner’s obi sash, kept in place by a netsuke. A fashionable man would have carried a pipe (kiseru), for smoking small servings of finely cut tobacco, in a stylish case as such. They served as contemporary fashion accessories and con-versation subjects. From the 17th to mid-19th century, all Japanese wore kimono – a simple T-shaped robe – wrapped around the body and held in place with an obi sash. Pipe cases are just one of the many ingeniously constructed sagemono (a collective term for “hanging things”) that were carried, wrapped around the obi. This pipe case was probably crafted as a special commission for a Dutch customer, or local Japanese client interested in foreign culture. It shows a Dutch merchant holding a walking stick and glancing towards the ground.
