Organizations

The following organizations provide wonderful opportunities to study netsuke and to make friends with like-minded people with similar interests. Please contact the group you are interested in for details about their activities and membership.

Japan Netsuke Society (Nihon Netsuke Kenkyukai)

Founded in 1975, the Japan Netsuke Society is the largest organization of those interested in netsuke in Japan, with more than 100 members. Meetings comprising fascinating lectures and friendly discussions are held four times a year in Tokyo and other cities in Japan.

The Society publishes a biannual color journal Netsuke no Shizuku (included in the cost of membership),which includes articles and meeting reports, all in Japanese language.

To mark the 20th and 30th anniversaries, the Society held exhibitions at Mikimoto Hall in Ginza, Tokyo, while the 40th was at the Tobacco and Salt Museum, Tokyo, which displayed the wonderful netsuke collections of its members.

President: Mr. SHIMATANI Yoichi
Website: https://www.netsukesociety.org

International Netsuke Society (INS)

The INS is the world’s largest netsuke organization, devoted to the study and collection of netsuke and other related objects. The Society was founded in the United States in 1975, and it now boasts several hundred members in over 30 countries.

The membership includes a very informative quarterly magazine in color, called the International Netsuke Society Journal (or INS Journal), to which members contribute articles and discuss various aspects of netsuke and related art forms in English language.

The Society holds wonderful biennial conventions.

President: Ms. Marsha Vargas HANDLEY
Annual membership fee is 125 US dollars.
For details, please check the INS website: http://www.netsuke.org/

The next convention is scheduled for October 10-14, 2024, in Boston, US. Details will be posted on the INS website and Koryuen.

INS Regional Chapters

The INS mentioned above has local chapters in the US, Japan, and Europe. The chapters organize meetings, in which members give lectures to share their knowledge and have informal but informative discussions, while occasionally also visiting fine collections of netsuke.

Please contact the relevant chairperson for more information such as membership fees. A full list of chapters is available through the INS website and the INS Journal.

Japan Chapter

INS member is eligible to join the Japan chapter, and one can join both at the same time.

For details, please contact SAGEMONOYA at https://www.netsuke.com

Chairperson: Mr. Robert A. FLEISCHEL

European Chapter

Membership of the European chapter includes Euronetsuke, an interesting magazine published twice a year. You can be a member even if you didn’t live in Europe.

For details, please check the chapter’s website and Instagram.
Website: https://euro-netsuke.myshopify.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/euronetsukepix/

Chairperson: Mrs. Rosemary BANDINI

International Roving Chapter

San Francisco & Northern California Chapter

Los Angeles Chapter

Seattle & the Pacific Northwest Chapter

Chicago Chapter

Washington DC Chapter

New York Chapter

Australian Chapter (Melbourne)

Moscow (Commonwealth of Independent States) Chapter

Ukraine Chapter

International Netsuke Carvers’ Association (INCA)

Established in 1977, this organization has a membership of about 70 netsuke artists who are professional or aspiring to be professional.

Their aim is to relax the apprenticeship and seniority system that traditionally prevailed, to dispel the custom of keeping carving techniques secret and make them open to fellow artists, as well as to raise the status of contemporary netsuke in society.

Their activities include a meeting held every two months, in which members freely and actively exchange information on such topics as techniques and materials of carving.

They also support the annual exhibitions held at Seibu Dept. Store in Ikebukuro, Tokyo, and at Yokohama Takashimaya Dept. Store.

President: Ms. MUKAIDA Yoka
E-mail: kochoyoka@gmail.com

This page has been made possible
by the persons in charge of the
above-mentioned organizations.
Thank you!

Text by Komada Makiko