A multi-coloured box constructed almost entirely of solid lacquer panels. Accordingly, it has significant weight. The unknown artist has first laid down multiple layers of coloured lacquers – reds, browns, green, black and white. The domed lid being overall 1 cm. deep is made of  around 350 lacquer layers, needing a minimum of year’s work to create, each layer being required to cure for 24 hours and be polished before applying the subsequent layer. The whole would then have been progressively polished back to reveal the uniquely beautiful design of receding concentric planes of colour. For the sides of the box, the artist has cut the slabs diagonally to achieve a rich, complex, marbled effect, reminiscent of a mineral formation or petrified wood.

While the techniques required are demanding and time consuming, it is the artistic vision to create this glowing, jewel-like casket which ultimately impresses. The inclusion of a loose baseboard confirms that this piece was designed for use as a storage vessel. Its dimensions suggest that this could have been commissioned as a suzuribako, to contain an inkstone.