Netsuke Quotes

“The netsuke in question had been Mrs. Turner's favorite. Although not as elaborate as the others, there was something beautiful about the white rabbit. Human beings are drawn to symmetry, and the small figure crouched on all four haunches was a deeply satisfying creation. "She used to say it fit perfectly in one's palm," Mrs. Pike remembered to police. "She got me to hold it once, very gently, and wrap my fingers around its smooth back, and I'll be darned if she wasn't right."”
― Kate Morton, Homecoming

“As soon as the meeting was adjourned, Piper sprang eagerly from her seat and went over to look at the netsuke. Minute scales were precisely carved into a tiny coiled snake. Every whisker appeared on a sleeping calico. A writhing dragon licked flames with his jagged tongue. But the netsuke that fascinated Piper the most was a monkey perched on a rock as it wrestled and held down the tentacles of a small octopus. The hairs of the monkey and the expression on its face were equally detailed. Even the tiny suction cups on the octopus's tentacles could be seen.
"That's one of my favorites."
Piper looked up to see Cryder standing there.
"In the Japanese legend," he continued, "the octopus was a physician to the Dragon King of the Sea and prescribed a monkey's liver to heal the king's daughter. But the smart little monkey evaded capture.”
― Mary Jane Clark, Footprints in the Sand