This lightweight case was hung from the belt alongside the tobacco pouch using the same system as for inrō, namely a cord with a simple loop and a netsuke – an ornamental counterweight. The taste for combining disparate materials – raw natural materials and those refined in an elaborate manner – and the use of poetic calligraphy to complement the decoration are typical features of Rinpa production. Tobacco became widespread during the Edo period; it was already being cultivated in Nagasaki as early as around 1605. The habit of smoking tobacco was very common, particularly in large urban centres and pleasure districts. Although the Shogunate attempted to discourage this practice through specific laws, it nevertheless remained widespread. A pipe case (kiseruzutsu) of tubular shape with an elliptical cross-section. At the top and around the mouthpiece, the silver leaf forms a pattern of triangular points interspersed with bands filled with spiralling clouds. The silver leaf, applied diagonally across the upper half of one side of the case, is covered with tiny, rough bosses. On the side inlaid with silver is painted a two-line poem in cursive script; on the other side is a lacquered depiction of a small plum tree in bloom.