by MURAYAMA Hisashi
May 2603, Imperial calendar (1943)
Gold, silver and coloured makie.
38.3 x 17.8 x 10.5 cm.
Signed. Signed and sealed tomobako
At a time when Japan’s military ambitions were already doomed, and dreadful privations within Japanese society were inevitable, there seems great poignancy to this exquisite work produced for the Imperial Household.
A richly coloured golden pheasant, kinkei, symbol of imperial authority, struts across a high-gloss black ground, embellished with fine silver makie, and a scattering of larger gold and silver flakes. The bird’s exotic plumage is raised in a series of coloured takamakie planes, while the shimmering tail feathers are a superb stylised design rendered in togidashie. This is work of the highest quality, as would be expected from an artist who worked almost exclusively for the Imperial Household.
On the four side panels of the deep sleeve lid, set against a densely textured, swirling kawarinuri ground, are depicted individual plant stems. Peony, botan, and mistflower, fujibakama, to the long sides, with wild carnation, nadeshiko, and morning glory, asagao, to the ends. All are boldly detailed in gold, silver and coloured hiramakie and takamakie. Each flower has symbolic importance. The showy peony, being a Spring plant, chimes with the date of this work, and symbolises good fortune and high honour. The wild carnation transitions summer into autumn. The fujibakama, literally “purple trousers”, is an autumnal plant that commonly references the eponymous scene from The Tale of Genji, where the gift of a bouquet accompanies a love poem. The short, but repeated flowering of the morning glory is a reminder of the transience of life.
The interior reveals a plain, low-gloss red with silver lacquer fundame rims. On the base is the gold seal of Murayama Hisashi.