Description
Meiji Period (1868-1912)
From our Japanese collection, we are delighted to offer this Japanese Lacquer Octagonal Hokai Box. The Lacquer Box of beautiful hexagonal form with a maki-e lacquered body having nine raised panels surrounding a channeled gold spotted border used to store Hamaguri shells for the game Kai-awase. Each panel features a continuous abstract mountainous effect with large Japanese Pink Dianthus flowers in the foreground having green stems and a large blossoming pink heads. The top of the box features a beautifully composed Takamaki-e butterfly with inlaid abalone eyes delicately painted with flecks of gold and the base bears the makers signature with a nashiji lacquer background. The interior of the Hokai has an inner top compartment finished in nashiji lacquer with a lid and central handle. The tightly fitted compartment pulls out revealing a larger storage area below, both the compartment and inner box are lined in a superb vibrant red with foliage surrounding central mandarin ducks. The Japanese Lacquer Octagonal Hokai Box dates to the Meiji period (1868-1912) circa 1910.
Hokai
boxes are traditionally used in Japan to hold and transport shells for the game of Kai-awase but are also used as picnic boxes.
Kai-awase 貝合わせ (shell-matching)
Kai-awase originated during Japan’s Heian period as an elegant pastime among aristocrats. Initially, it involved composing poetic verses inspired by the appearance of clam shells – their shape, size, and colour and competing to craft the most evocative expressions. By the late 12th century, the game evolved into Kaioi, where mismatched clam shell halves were mixed, and players had to find and match the correct pairs. To play the game, 360 shell halves were divided between two players or teams. Only the correct halves of a particular shell would join. The object of the game was to find the joining shell halves.
This activity was especially popular among women during the late Heian and Kamakura periods. By the late 13th century, it became known as Kai-awase, and the shells used in the game became increasingly elaborate, often decorated with intricate designs, and embellished with gold or silver using traditional Japanese methods.
From the Sengoku to Edo periods, kai-awase shells were also incorporated into upper-class wedding ceremonies as symbols of blessings and harmony. Today, the term “kai-awase” generally refers to the concept of matching pairs, rather than the original poetic competition, though the game is still celebrated as a cultural artifact of Japan’s refined artistic traditions.
Hamaguri
is a type of clam that is highly prized in Japan as the finest of all shell fish. The shell of the hamaguri became the basis of a game called kai-awase. It was played by court ladies from the 13th to the 19th century.
Hiramaki-e
is a variation of gold decoration in low, or flat relief similar to the risen version Takamaki-e
Mura-nashiji
is frequently employed for the background of a pattern. Gold (or silver) flakes called nashiji-ko are sprinkled onto the surface of the object on which lacquer has been applied. Nashiji lacquer is then applied and burnished with charcoal, so that the gold (or silver) can be seen through the lacquer.
Meiji Period
was an era of Japanese history that spanned from 1868 to 1912. It was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people began to build a paradigm of a modern, industrialised nation state and emergent great power, influenced by Western countries and aesthetics. As a result of radically different ideas, the changes to Japan were profound and it affected the social structure, politics, economy, military, and foreign relations across the board. The period corresponded to the reign of Emperor Meiji and was preceded by the Keio era and was succeeded by the Taisho era.
Cultural Art during the Meiji Period was of particular interest to the government and they overhauled the art export market which in turn promoted Japanese arts via various world’s fairs, beginning in Vienna at the world fair in 1873. The government heavily funded the fairs and took an active role organising how Japan’s culture was presented to the world including creating a semi-public company named Kiritsu Kosho Kaisha (First Industrial Manufacturing Company). The Kiritsu Kosho Kaisha was used to promote and commercialise exports of Japanese art and established the Hakurankai Jimukyoku (Exhibition Bureau) to maintain quality standards. For the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philadelphia, the Japanese government created a Centennial Office and sent a special envoy to secure space for the 30,000 items that would be displayed. The Imperial Household also took an active interest in arts and crafts, commissioning works by select artists to be given as gifts for foreign dignitaries further emphasising the high quality and importance of Japanese art. Just before the end of the 19th century in 1890, the Teishitsu Gigeiin (Artist to the Imperial Household) system was created to recognise distinguished artists. These artists were selected for their exceptionally high quality wares and talent in their own industry. Over a period of 54 years Seventy artists were appointed, amongst these were ceramicist Makuzu Kozan and cloisonné enamel artist Namikawa Yasuyuki.
Measurements
13cm High x 13cm Wide (5.12 Inches Square)
Condition
Very Good – minor surface blemishes
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