A netsuke is a miniature sculpture developed in Japan over a period of more than three hundred years. This highly collectable art form is both functional and aesthetic and will continue to increase in value very quickly. The kimono, the traditional form of Japanese dress, had no pockets. Men suspended pouches (inro) on a silk cord from their sash (obi) . To stop the cord from slipping through the obi, a small toggle is attached. That small toggle is the netsuke.

The two Jpanese characters that are used to spell the word netsuke, are ne which means "root", such as bamboo root that may have been used as an early netsuke, and tsuke, which means "to fasten". Thus, netsuke originally meant a root that had been fastened to something.

There was no stigma attached to the production, sale, or purchase of these artworks. In fact the market for such artworks was a lively and lucrative one. In Japan, erotic motifs played an important role, especially in Edo (the city we now know as Tokyo), the new and dynamic capital, in the period known by the same name. The majority of the sculptures show married couples of all ages, shy and inexperienced youngsters, adulterous wives and husbands, liaisons across class boundaries and same-sex lovers. It reflected the Japanese view of the body and sex as being part of the normal, natural world, a world that held no concept of original sin. Japan has a strong tradition of erotica and its people have held various associated beliefs. In the Japanese middle ages, the Samurai believed that sex would safeguard them against misfortune.