An apparently simple, striking design – each of the four sides of the vase displaying a strip of black, high gloss lacquer and contrasting adjoining straight sections of mature bamboo.  However, the bamboo is an optical illusion, being in fact created in the lacquer coating technique of take-nuri. It captures not just the familiar surface texture of mature bamboo, but also its realistic three-dimensional nodes. 

By the end of the Edo period Niigata was the foremost lacquer-producing centre in Japan, its importance consolidated by its ready access to both sea and land trade routes. The take-nuri technique seen here was introduced in the late 19th century, and is considered the defining speciality of the Niigata region.

The tomobako records that the piece came from the Niigata prefectural newspaper agency – possibly a gift.