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Artist:
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Yo_yu_sai Hara
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Title:
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Writing box (suzuribako)
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Date:
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early 19th century
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Medium:
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Lacquer on wood with gold, lead and mother-of-pearl
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Dimensions:
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1-1/2 x 9 x 9-5/8 in. (3.8 x 22.9 x 24.4 cm)
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Credit Line:
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Gift of Ruth and Bruce Dayton
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Location:
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Gallery 219
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For this writing box, the renowned lacquer artist Yo_yu_sai was inspired by a poem that occurs in the 9th century Tales of Ise, attributed to the courtier Ariwara Narihira (depicted on the cover of the box). When the protagonist of the story (possibly Narihira himself) comes upon a marsh of blossoming irises, he composes a poem beginning each line with a syllable from the Japanese word for iris (kakitsubata):
Karogoromo I have a beloved wife
Kitsutsu narenishi Familiar as the skirt
Tsuma shi areba Of a well-worn robe
Harubaru kinuru And so, this distant journeying
Tabi o shi zo omou. Fills my heart with grief.
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Artist/Creator(s)
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Name:
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Hara, Yo_yu_sai
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Nationality:
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Japanese
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Life Dates:
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1769-1845
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Object Description
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Inscriptions:
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"after Korin, Yoyusai (Kakihan)", inscribed below inkstone
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Classification:
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Lacquerware
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Physical Description:
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gold lacquer box with inlaid decoration of man on horseback on top of cover and flowers and a footpath on underside of cover; compartmentalized tray for inksone, rectangular water dropper, knife and two brushes with floral inlay
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Creation Place:
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Asia, Japan, , ,
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Accession #:
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2001.70.1a-i
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Owner:
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The Minneapolis Institute of Arts
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