Kinkarakawa tobacco case – the ultimate luxury. Photo: Minamoto Tadayuki

Kinkarakawa or cuoi d’oro was a leather craft created in the 15th century in Florence where engraving tools and moulds were used to emboss metal leaves. It was used as a way of decorating the walls of palaces and churches in Western Europe and was brought to Japan during the Edo period by Dutch merchants. Being rare and a luxury, it was greatly valued and the apex of all materials used to make tobacco cases in Japan. The pipe case is made with fuji-ajiro (wisteria with fishnet pattern) design.