Grains of truth

This is the hare that I named the book after. It's the magic lunar hare which keeps turning up in Japanese mythology and it's the whitest netsuke in the whole collection by far, made of the the purest ivory. Like all netsuke, it's about an inch long
Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

I love this tumble of tortoises, in particular because it's made by a famous tortoise netsuke carver and I feel when I look at it that this is a man who has spent a lot of time with tortoises Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

This is a medlar and though it's relatively simple it's one of my favourites because you can just feel it's so ripe it's on the point of going over. It's lovely to hold in the palm of your hand. Here you can see one of the two holes which all netsuke have for the strings which attach the purse to the kimono belt
Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

There are a lot of rats in netsuke, probably because rats get everywhere. The point is where you put the tail. The tail is the most important bit because it's tucked away so only your fingers can find it Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

This servant woman is having a bath in a crude wooden tub. She's attached to it by a string so she can get in and out. It's one of the erotic netsuke, of which there are several in the collection Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

I love this one because how can you possibly make a stag which you can hold in the palm of your hand? The carver has tucked the legs underneath and the antlers lie flat, so the stag is at rest but still animated. This one is my children's favourite
Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian

Many netsukes capture of moments of shock and surprise. Here a man cleaning a temple floor suddenly feels a rat racing across his back
Photograph: Martin Argles/Guardian