Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

A popular expedition for tourists was a trip to the area around Mount Fuji, where the comfortable Fujiya Hotel in Miyanoshita was well equipped to look after the needs of foreigners. From here various expeditions to hot springs, mountain valleys, and rural tea houses could be made, but above all on a clear day Mount Fuji could be seen in all its glory. Visitors either walked, were carried by porters in a kago (a basket slung on two poles carried on the shoulders of two bearers), or rode ponies. After one such climb Mr Ingram writes, 'had a good view of Fuji tho' as usual there were many clouds about it'.

Mrs Ingram on a pony.

Curio shops

Interspersed amongst these pursuits in the open air were several successful trips to the antique shops, in particular Nakada, where they 'spent a good deal of the day and bought one or two nice things' writes Mr Ingram.

Sake cup with a scroll depicting a crane (EA1956.1809) Inrō with guri decoration (EA1956.1773) Pipe case depicting the story of Urashima Tarō (EA1956.1811)

Baluster vase with a procession of insects (EA1956.667) Inrō with decorative mon (EA1956.3213)

Surely this dealer was able to read the signature of the potter Makuzu Kōzan on the base of one of the small vases (EA1956.667)? Yet he led Mr Ingram to believe that it was Chinese and 100 years old. In fact three of these little ‘sang de boeuf’ vases slipped unnoticed into the collection (EA1956.667, EA1956.682, EA1956.1853), all sold by different dealers, the one in Tokyo perhaps being the most dishonest for he ventured to attribute his to the reign of the Chinese Emperor, Kien Lung, (Qianlong 1735-1796). The odd thing is that he charged one yen, about the same price as it would have cost from the Makuzu Kōzan workshop, so why the deceit?

Baluster vase with a procession of insects (EA1956.667) Baluster vase with flattened shoulders (EA1956.682) Small bulbous vase (EA1956.1853)

The Venus shell box (EA1956.1801) and two others (EA1956.1794, EA1956.1791) are featured in another of Lady Ingram's Connoisseur magazine articles entitled 'Japanese Lacquer Incense Boxes' and published in July 1931. She had made a careful study of the various lacquer techniques and terminology which she describes in detail and had clearly grown to appreciate the skill involved in their production. She concludes 'those who love beautiful things must surely find delight in the perfect workmanship, design, colour and technique that are shown in the best specimen of Ko-go' [Kōgō] (incense box).

Kōgō, or incense box, made from a Venus shell (EA1956.1801) Kōgō, or incense box, in the form of a hare (EA1956.1794) Kōgō, or incense box, with guri decoration (EA1956.1791)

On the journey back from Miyanoshita, the Ingrams stopped in Shizuoka. It rained for the whole day so was ideal for shopping! One rather unusual box coated in ray skin, with lacquered shells and cherry blossoms was found here (EA1956.1806). The shape is Western and made for export, but the flavour of the design is distinctly Japanese.

Kobako, or small box, with flowers and shells (EA1956.1806)

Ojime

Because of his new wife's lack of energy and inability to venture out on several days while they were in the Mount Fuji area, Mr Ingram found a number of ojime to amuse her. Ojime are beads which hold the compartments of an inrō together and are threaded onto the cords between the inrō and the attached netsuke. They can be miniature works of art in themselves and were often made en suite with inrō and netsuke to complement the design. With the introduction of Western dress during the Meiji period (1968-1912) suits with pockets came into fashion and these ensembles almost became redundant. Many sets were broken up and thus by the time the Ingrams were in Japan it was possible to buy ojime by weight. Some were made specifically for export and are not usually of the same high quality of workmanship as those from disassembled sets. Mrs Ingram became enchanted with these beads and began to go out and look for them herself.

Page from Mrs Ingram’s diary.

By the time they left Japan, Mrs Ingram had amassed several hundred pieces, once acquiring 60 together in one lot. These formed the subject of her first article for Connoisseur magazine, written in June 1930, in which she illustrated a number of these 'ojimi' as she called them, threaded onto metal wires. She kindly added her collection of around 550 ojime to her husband's donation to the museum in 1956.

Photo of ‘ojimi’ in Lady Ingram’s Connoisseur article. Photo of ‘ojimi’ in Lady Ingram’s Connoisseur article.

As can be seen from the photograph, the ojime are made from a wide variety of different materials, ivory, bone, lacquer, agate, and metal. There is only one pure gold piece in her collection (EA1956.3792), which she bought in Nikkō.

Ojime with flowers (EA1956.3792)

The work on some of the mixed metal beads is rather fine. Since the abolition of the wearing of swords in 1872, many sword furniture makers were put out of business, but were able to eke out a living by turning their skill to objects made for the burgeoning export market.

Ojime with oni, or demons (EA1956.3700)