I think the belt is tight around your waist, and then the netsuke is stuck above the belt. If you pull on the string it can't slide because there is no space fo

I think the belt is tight around your waist, and then the netsuke is stuck above the belt. If you pull on the string it can't slide because there is no space for the netsuke to pass under the belt. There's a picture here: https://www.netsuke.com/netsuke.html https://www.netsuke.com/netsuke.html