In the 19th Century, Japanese people used to carry small objects, such as seals and medicines, in a small lacquered box known as an inro.  The inro was attached to the waist via a cord.

View Japanese black lacquer inro 4 part medicine box with fine detail of a flower in red and gold and carved bone netsuke of an elder man holding a scroll along with Peking glass coral color bead. 1 3 ...