Writing box (suzuribako) executed in relief (makie) and other lacquer techniques

Object Details

• Artist

  Kajikawa

• Description

  Writing box (suzuribako) executed in relief (makie) and other lacquer techniques, depicting figures scurrying for shelter from a storm orchestrated by the Thunder God.

• Label

  Legendary and theatrical references abound in the decoration of the cover of this lacquer box for an inkstone, a water dropper, and writing brushes. The Wisteria Maiden (Fuji Musume), whose silvery facial features have oxidized to bluish black, is a common subject of Otsu-e, a type of folk painting sold in the town of Otsu near Lake Biwa. In nineteenth-century kabuki, the Wisteria Maiden became the focus of a dance expressing unrequited love to the vocal and instrumental music of a nagauta (literally, "long song"). With her is a praying demon, another figure often seen in Otsu-e. The Thunder God rushes down from above, beating his ring of drums as the couple takes shelter from a rainstorm. The ornate pictorial decoration of this box was created by an artist who had mastered maki-e techniques, which employ powders and particles of gold and other material to create intricate designs.

• Collection

  Freer Gallery of Art Collection

• Exhibition History

  The Floating World: Ukiyo-e Paintings and Prints (December 8, 2002 to May 26, 2003)

  Surveying the Collections: Poets and Parties (July 2, 2000 to February 4, 2001)

  Japanese and Chinese Lacquer (September 22, 1982 to June 30, 1983)

  Japanese Lacquer (April 16, 1979 to October 8, 1980)

  Japanese Ukiyo-e Painting (May 2, 1973 to July 1, 1974)

  Japanese Art, Galleries 3, 4, and 5 (January 1, 1963 to September 16, 1970)

  Centennial Exhibition, Galleries 3 and 4 (February 25, 1956 to January 1, 1963)

• Origin

  Japan

• Credit Line

  Purchase — Charles Lang Freer Endowment

• Type

  Container

• Restrictions and Rights

  Usage Conditions Apply

  There are restrictions for re-using this media. For more information, visit the Smithsonian's Terms of Use page.

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• Related Resources

  collections.si.edu

• Date

  1700s, 1710s, 1720s, 1900s, 1770s, 1780s, 1790s, 1730s, 1740s, 1750s, 1760s, 1800s, 1810s, 1820s, 1830s, 1610s, 1650s, 1640s, 1630s, 1620s, 1690s, 1840s, 1680s, 1850s, 1670s, 1860s, 1660s

• Name

  Kajikawa

• Place

  Japan

• Topic

  Spear Bearer, Art, Praying Goblin, Edo period, Japan, (1600 - 1868), Japanese Art, Lacquer, Writing, Umbrellas, Ukiyo-e, Wisteria Maiden, Bodhidharma, Thunder God and Drum

• Culture

  Buddhists, Japanese

• Object Type

  Containers