Inro with a Chrysanthemum-BlossomPattern, early 19thcentury, Inro: gold lacquer ground on wood with gold, silver, and red pigment, and decoration in togidashi maki-e, and nashiji on the interior; netsuke: ivory; ojime: variegated stone, 3 5/8 × 1 3/4 in. (9.2 × 4.4cm), Because the traditional Japanese kimono is devoid of pockets, a number of hanging containers were developed. Inro, made of the best lacquered wood or lacquered ox-hide, were the most expensive and treasured of these containers. The inro (literally seal baskets) were originally used by men to carry personal seals, but during the Edo period (1615-1868), these compartmented cases came to be used for medicine or special items like letters and charms. Attached to the inro is a netsuke (or toggle, literally root attach), often made of ivory or wood, which acts as a stopper to prevent the inro from slipping off a kimono sash. The ojime (cord tightener) is a bead used to tighten the cords that keep the tiered containers of th