By a follower of Ogawa Haritsu (Ritsuo, 1663-1747), most likely by Mochizuki Hanzan (1743-1790), sealed Kan
Japan, second half of 18^th century, Edo period (1615-1868)

Published & Exhibited: Cornell University, Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Scattered Gold and Midnight Gloss: Japanese Lacquer from the Anbinder Collection, 31 March – 8 July 2007, p. 11.

Of rectangular form with lobed edges, the top and sides each with a shaped sunken panel bearing a beautiful gold kinji ground, the cover finely decorated with inlays of aogai, mitsuda, eggshell, coral, and glazed ceramic as well as gold, black, and red takamaki-e to depict three cranes in front of an entrance to the Dazaifu shrine with a blossoming plum tree in the courtyard, the gate tower with subtly inlaid glass windows, the gate and wall roughly textured imitating plaster, the edges and base finished in ishime, the sides gold-lacquered in low relief with Chinese poems (kanshi) by Sugaware no Michizane. The interior of roiro with gold fundame edges, the interior of the cover with gold, red, and black hiramaki-e and takamaki-e with kirigane and mura-nashiji as well as inlays of aogai and mitsuda (pewter) to depict an ox bucking before a meandering river, the lower right corner with an inlaid ceramic seal KAN.

SIZE 10.6 x 37.6 x 28.8 cm

Condition: Very good condition with minor wear, few tiny nicks, occasional light scratches, minor flaking to ceramic inlays, little rubbing to lacquer and mitsuda inlay.
Provenance: Heian Art, Kyoto, Japan. The Paul and Helen Anbinder Collection, acquired from the above. Paul Anbinder (b. 1940) is a retired editor who was a director at important publishers, including Random House and Hudson Hills. Helen Anbinder (1942-2022) was an education administrator who ran the Inter-village Continuing Education Program for Ardsley, Dobbs Ferry, Hastings, and Irvington, New York. The couple were avid museumgoers and collectors of art. They donated many books and prints from their collection to their alma mater Cornell University and the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art.

The style of the present bunko is clearly that of Ogawa Haritsu (Ritsuo, 1663-1747), but it is more likely to be by Mochizuki Hanzan (Haritsu II, 1743-1790) or a close follower.

The design on the cover, depicting the Dazaifu shrine, a blossoming plum tree, and cranes, allegorizes the legends surrounding Sugaware no Michizane, who at the age of ten composed a Chinese poem praising the beauty of plum blossoms under the full moon. The inscriptions on the sides of the box and cover are Chinese poems by Michizane written during his exile. The inside of the cover also refers to Michizane, as after his death his body was carried in a cart by an ox, which suddenly stopped in front of a stream as if it could not be induced to go farther. Michizane’s attendants interpreted this as a sign of where their master wanted to be buried and dug his grave at the exact spot the ox stopped. Later, the Shinto shrine of Dazaifu Tenmangu, visible to the front of this masterful lacquer box, was erected there in his honor.

Sugawara no Michizane (845-903) was a scholar, poet, and politician of the Heian period. He is regarded as an excellent poet, particularly in waka and kanshi poetry. Although he reached the high rank of Dajo Daijin (Supreme Head of the Council of State), due to a political rivalry against Fijiwara no Tokihira, he was exiled and died in Dazaifo, Kyushu. After Michizane's death, plague and drought spread and sons of Emperor Daigo died in succession. The Imperial Palace's Great Audience Hall (shishinden) was struck repeatedly by lightning, and the city experienced weeks of rainstorms and floods. Attributing this to the angry spirit of the exiled Sugawara, the imperial court built a Shinto shrine called Kitano Tenman-gu in Kyoto, and dedicated it to him. They posthumously restored his title and office, and struck from the record any mention of his exile. Even this was not enough, and 70 years later Sugawara was deified as Tenjin-sama, a god of sky and storms. Eventually Tenjin evolved into a benign kami of scholarship.

With a wood storage box.

Auction comparison:
Compare a related woven rattan suzuribako by Mochizuki Hanzan, with a similar shaped panel to the top of the cover, dated to the 18^th century, at Bonhams, The Edward Wrangham Collection of Japanese Art Part II, 10 May 2011, London, lot 361 (sold for 19,200 GBP). Also compare to a related suzuribako by Mochizuki Hanzan, sealed Hanzan, worked with similar bright inlays, at Zacke, Fine Japanese Art, 3 December 2021, Vienna, lot 165 (sold for EUR 50,560).