This carved wood netsuke by Egawa Sokoku depicts a young boy adorned in the traditional shishimai (lion dance) costume, a subject that allowed the artist to showcase intricate detail work within the miniature format. Created during Japan's Showa period, the piece exemplifies the refined craftsmanship for which netsuke carvers of the twentieth century became known, balancing narrative subject matter with the functional sculptural demands of the toggle. Sokoku's signature on the work attests to his established reputation as a carver, with his birth year of 1920 placing him among the later generation of artists working in this centuries old tradition.