{"product_id":"bell-cricket-maki-e-kogo-gold-lined-lacquer-incense-container-by-takeshi","title":"Bell Cricket Maki-e Kogo Gold-Lined Lacquer Incense Container by Takeshi","description":"Experience Authentic Japanese Lacquer Art with this Maki-e Kogo Incense Container. This Gold Lacquer Box serves as a Bell Cricket Art masterpiece and Tame-nuri Lacquer collectible, featuring Takamaki-e Gold technique and Gold Lined Interior—a must-have for any Art Collector seeking Urushi Lacquerware and Japanese Tea Ceremony accessories.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Takeshi (武司)\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Gold maki-e (takamaki-e and kegaki) on tame-nuri lacquer\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Contemporary\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Japan\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Height approx. 2.5 cm, Width approx. 6 cm (1.0\" × 2.4\")\u003cbr\u003e• Weight: Approx. 24 g\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Signed tomobako inscribed '香合 鈴虫 武司'\u003cbr\u003e• Includes: Tomobako, cloth wrapper (yellow), grosgrain ribbon\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Good — very fine surface wear consistent with age; gold work fully intact\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL \u0026amp; ARTISTIC INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe suzumushi (bell cricket) is among the most beloved autumn insects in Japanese poetry and tea culture. Its clear, bell-like chirp has inspired waka and haiku for over a thousand years, embodying the Japanese aesthetic of mono no aware — the bittersweet awareness of passing beauty. In the tea room, a kogo bearing this motif signals the transition from summer's intensity to autumn's contemplative stillness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe choice of tame-nuri — a translucent amber-brown lacquer layered over a gold or pigmented base — gives the surface a warmth and depth that shifts subtly with light, as though the lacquer itself holds the glow of an autumn evening.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*\"A single cricket's song carries the weight of the entire season's turning.\"*\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE COMMENTARY ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Dual Maki-e Registers**: Takeshi employs two distinct maki-e techniques on this piece. The cricket's body is built up in takamaki-e (raised gold work), giving it sculptural presence — you can feel the slight elevation when a fingertip passes over it. The surrounding autumn grasses are executed in the finest kegaki line-drawing, each blade rendered with a single hair-thin gold stroke. This contrast between the dimensional insect and the flat, calligraphic grasses creates a visual tension that rewards close looking.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Kin-tame Interior**: The interior is finished in gold-lined (kin-tame \/ 内金溜) lacquer, a refinement that serves both aesthetic and functional purpose. When the lid is lifted to reveal a small portion of incense, the gold interior amplifies the visual moment — a private luxury visible only to the host preparing the charcoal.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e**Seasonal Significance**: The bell cricket belongs to the autumn tea gathering. Its presence on a kogo anchors the utensil in the furo season, when charcoal arrangements shift and the tearoom begins its inward turn toward winter. The tomobako inscription reads simply: 香合 鈴虫 武司 — no embellishment. The work speaks.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【基本情報】\u003cbr\u003e• 作家：武司\u003cbr\u003e• 技法：金蒔絵（高蒔絵・毛描き）、溜塗地\u003cbr\u003e• 時代：現代\u003cbr\u003e• 産地：日本\u003cbr\u003e• 寸法：高さ約2.5cm、幅約6cm\u003cbr\u003e• 付属：共箱・共布・紐\u003cbr\u003e• 状態：良好（漆面に微細な経年擦れあり、金蒔絵は完全）\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【解説】\u003cbr\u003e武司作の蒔絵香合。溜塗の深い琥珀色の地に、鈴虫が秋草の間に佇む姿を金蒔絵で描いています。虫体は高蒔絵で立体的に表現し、草葉は毛描きの細密な線描で仕上げた、二つの技法の対比が見どころです。内部は金溜仕上げで、蓋を開けた瞬間の華やかさが茶席に小さな驚きをもたらします。共箱の蓋裏に「香合 鈴虫 武司」の墨書。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ SHIPPING \u0026amp; PACKAGING ]\u003cbr\u003e• Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days\u003cbr\u003e• Carrier: Japan Post EMS \/ UPS (with tracking)\u003cbr\u003e• Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e*Gold and lacquer hold the sound of autumn — even in silence, the cricket sings.*","brand":"The Modern Zen Archive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61600608977266,"sku":"260123_a_1676","price":918.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m12847229218_1.jpg?v=1771299403","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/bell-cricket-maki-e-kogo-gold-lined-lacquer-incense-container-by-takeshi","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}