TOOTHPICKS: The Osamu Inaba Collection Archives

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TOOTHPICKS: The Osamu Inaba Collection Archives introduces the extensive personal collection of Osamu Inaba, amassed over fifty years from all cultures and corners of the earth.

For Mr. Inaba, oral care represents both a lifelong hobby and his lifework, as the third-generation director of Koeisha—the first company in Japan to mechanize the production of toothpicks from birch, a material that remains the industry standard to this day.

Spanning from humble implements whittled from twigs to those carved from animal and fish bones, and even lavishly decorative examples conceived as objects d’art, his collection demonstrates that the toothpick has a surprisingly rich and varied history, extending far beyond the modern, mass-produced toothpicks we might otherwise take for granted today.

More than just quotidian tools for cleaning teeth, toothpicks have also played important roles in social and religious contexts throughout human history. As such, this book is both a record of a toothpick collection and a valuable anthropological trove that speaks volumes about human life and society, as glimpsed through the mouth and its care.

Pages: 176
Dimensions: 110 x 188 mm
Format: Softcover
Language: English, Japanese
Year: 2026
Publisher: Koeisha