Editing Netsuke (section)

== Materials ==
[[File:Miyasaka Hakuryu II - Tigress with Two Cubs - Walters 71909.jpg|thumb|{{transliteration|ja|Netsuke}} of tigress with two cubs, mid-19th century, ivory with shell inlay]]
* [[Ivory]] – the most common material used before ivory from live animals became illegal. {{transliteration|ja|Netsuke}} made from [[mammoth]] ivory (huge quantities still exist in the Near East and Siberia) fill part of the tourist trade demand today.
* [[Buxus|Boxwood]], other [[hardwood]]s – popular materials in Edo Japan and still used today
* [[Metal]] – used as accents in many {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} and {{transliteration|ja|kagamibuta}} lids
* [[Hippopotamus]] tooth – used today in lieu of ivory
* Boar [[tusk]] – mostly used by Iwami carvers
* [[Rhinoceros]] horn
* [[Clay]]/[[porcelain]]
* [[Lacquer]]
* [[Arundo|Cane]] (woven)

===Unusual materials===
* [[Hornbill ivory]]: of the many species of hornbill, only the [[helmeted hornbill]] (''Rhinoplax vigil'') furnishes an ivory-like substance. This is a dense, carvable substance that makes up the solid casque growing above the upper mandible (from the bird's forehead). It is not ivory, horn, nor bone, yet it has been called ivory for many centuries. It is softer than real ivory and is a creamy yellow in color, becoming red at the top and sides.<ref name="INS conference">2005 INS conference Burt Drexler lecture, unless otherwise noted</ref>
* {{transliteration|ja|[[Umimatsu]]}}: a species of [[black coral]] with dense texture, concentric growth rings, and amber and reddish colored inclusions in the black material. According to Michael Birch, "the literal translation of {{transliteration|ja|umimatsu}} is 'sea pine', and it is also popularly described as 'black coral'. True coral, however, is a hard calcareous substance secreted by marine polyps for habitation. {{transliteration|ja|Umimatsu}}, on the other hand is a colony of keratinous antipatharian marine organisms."<ref>Lazarnick, George "Netsuke & Inro Artists, and How to Read Their Signatures", page 1361, Reed Publishers, 1981</ref>
* {{transliteration|ja|[[Umoregi]]}}: there are several definitions, some contradictory: According to Bushell, "{{transliteration|ja|Umoregi}} is a partially fossilized wood, having the general appearance of ebony but showing no grain." Often called fossilized wood, {{transliteration|ja|umoregi}} is not properly a wood, but a "jet" (a variety of [[lignite]]), that is often confused with ebony. It is a shiny material that takes an excellent polish, but it has a tendency to split. {{transliteration|ja|Umoregi}} is petrified wood formed when [[Cedar wood|cedar]] and [[pine]] trees from the [[Tertiary|Tertiary Age]] (5 million years ago) were buried underground and then carbonized. The layers of earth where {{transliteration|ja|umoregi-zaiku}} can be found extend under the [[Aobayama]] and [[Yagiyama]] sections of [[Sendai]], Japan. Pieces made from this material are generally dark brown with a beautiful wood grain and the soft luster of lacquer.
* [[Walrus]] tusk: walrus have two large [[tusk]]s (elongated canine teeth) projecting downward from the upper jaw. These tusks, often reaching two feet in length, have been extensively carved as ivory for centuries in many countries and especially in Japan. Walrus tusk carvings are usually easy to identify, because much of the interior of the tooth is filled with a mottled, almost translucent substance that is harder and more resistant to carving than the rest of the tooth. {{transliteration|ja|Manjū}}, especially {{transliteration|ja|ryūsa manjū}}, invariably show this translucent material at opposite edges of the {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}}.
* [[Baleen]]: the [[sperm whale]] has teeth running the whole length of its enormous lower jaw. Those in the middle tend to be the largest, often obtaining a length of more than six to eight inches. These larger ones are often used by carvers of [[scrimshaw]].
* Whale's [[bone]]: all bones are hollow, the cavity being filled with a spongy material. Cuts across some bone show a pattern of minute holes looking like dark dots. Lengthwise, such bone displays many narrow channels which appear to be dark lines of varying lengths. Polished, bone is more opaque and less shiny than ivory.
* Teeth: a variety of other teeth are used for {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}}, including: [[Wild boar|boar]]s', [[bear]]s', and even [[tiger]]s'.
[[Image:Walnut Netsuke.JPG|thumb|upright|Walnut {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} (approx. 17th century)]]
* [[Tagua nut]]: the nut from the [[ivory palm]] (''[[Phytelephas aequatorialis]]''), often referred to as vegetable ivory. Part of the nut's shell sometimes remains on {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} carvings. Though often mistaken for or deceptively sold as elephant ivory, items made from the two-to-three-inch nut have none of the striations common to animal ivory, and sometimes the ivory-like nut flesh has a light yellow cast under a rough coconut-shell-like external covering. The nut is very hard when dry, but easily worked into artistic items when wet.
* [[Walnut]] (or {{transliteration|ja|kurumi}} – natural walnut shell): in the above photo, a rare example of the {{transliteration|ja|kataborinetsuke}} style, the meat from the nut was removed by various means, one being the insertion of a small worm in a hole in the nut to consume the meat. Following that, elaborate designs were carved, and the string inserted. The carver often removed all of the nut's normal surface features and carved through the surface in places to create a latticed effect. Once carved, the resulting {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} was polished and shellacked.
* [[Bamboo]]: "bamboo (''Iyo bamboo'') is used for {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}}. Bamboo {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} are either a piece of the stem or the root with carving on it."<ref>Yuzuru Okada, "Netsuke A Miniature Art of Japan", page 54, Japan Travel Bureau, 1951</ref> According to Bernard Rosett:<ref>Rosett, (14/2 :40-44)</ref> "carvings in the round are usually made from the underground stem of the plant, that small almost solid zone that connects to the creeping rhizome below the ground. Bamboo {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} are not commonly encountered. Occasionally, one comes across a {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} fashioned from bamboo root and can revel in the wonderful texture and patina of the material."
* [[Agate]]: a mineral, streaked with many colors, and which can be given a high polish.
* Ivorine: a material made from the dust created when carving legally obtained new ivory, mammoth ivory, tusks, and teeth, which is then mixed with a clear [[resin]] and compressed as it hardens. This was one of the many solutions to the demand of the tourist market trade for {{transliteration|ja|netsuke}} carvings after trade in new ivory became illegal. Once hard and dry, ivorine can be carved in exactly the same way as ivory. Though often deceptively sold to the modern tourist trade as elephant ivory, items made from ivorine have none of the striations common to animal ivory, though sometimes, the carving is artificially aged to have the yellowed appearance common to true old ivory carvings.