Inro Porcelain Decoration With Children Playing, With Netsuke, Japan, Late Medji Period, Ca. 1890-1900.

A two-compartment, ovoid porcelain inrō decorated with polychrome and gold, adorned with a stylized flower-shaped porcelain ojime bead and mounted on a purple silk cord. The surface is entirely covered with a scattering of small gold motifs evoking flowers or bursts of light, using a decorative technique inspired by the Satsuma tradition, while high-relief, modeled and glazed figures appear on both sides: children playing around a tree on one side, and a plump reclining figure with a child on the other.

The first register clearly belongs to the iconographic theme of “karako” (唐子), that is, playful children of Chinese inspiration, a motif extremely popular in Japanese art intended for export from the late 19th century onward. These figures embody joy, abundance, and good fortune.

In the background, Hotei (布袋) is a popular deity in the Japanese pantheon, traditionally counted among the Seven Lucky Gods (Shichifukujin). Of Chinese origin, inspired by a wandering monk from the Tang dynasty, he is associated with happiness, material prosperity, and spiritual ease. His iconography is immediately recognizable: a generous build, a bare and prominent belly, a jovial and relaxed expression, often accompanied by children playing around him.