This object is a bu’kuto, or ‘wooden sword’.
Bu’kuto were worn, suspended from the belt, by medical
practitioners as emblems of their profession. This example has a
netsuke attached. A netsuke is a small, carved
toggle, used to prevent the bu’kuto slipping off
the belt. It was made some time before 1902.
View
database record 1902.55.2
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