The entire surface is willow. Not a willow motif applied to a surface, but a surface that has become willow — ten thousand fine gold lines describing the fall of branches, the drift of leaves, the weight of air against filament. Horinouchi Soshin has written his name on the box. That is not incidental.
🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ] - Artist/Maker: Goto Jotaro (呉藤穣太郎) - Title: Weeping Willow Maki-e O-Natsume with Silver-Lacquer Interior, Horinouchi Soshin Kakitsuke (枝垂柳蒔絵 大棗 内銀溜塗 堀内宗心書付) - Dimensions: H approx. 7.2 cm, diameter approx. 7.3 cm - Condition: Excellent. Maki-e surface complete and intact. Silver-lacquer interior with natural patina. - Comes with: Tomobako (signed wooden storage box) bearing kakitsuke (inscription) by Horinouchi Soshin (Kenchusai), fourteenth head of the Omotesenke Horinouchi lineage
— Cultural Insight — A kakitsuke — an inscription by a tea master on a tomobako — is among the most consequential designations a tea utensil can carry. It is not a certificate of authenticity in any commercial sense; it is an act of recognition within a living tradition. When Horinouchi Soshin (堀内宗心), known by his posthumous title Kenchusai (間中斎), writes on a box, he is affirming that this object has standing in the world of chado.
Horinouchi Soshin served as the fourteenth head of the Omotesenke Horinouchi family, one of the most significant branch lineages within Omotesenke. His judgment carries the weight of a tradition that extends back to Sen no Rikyu. A piece bearing his kakitsuke does not require further introduction.
The weeping willow (shidare yanagi) as a maki-e subject requires a quality of line work that most lacquer artists cannot achieve at this scale. The branches must fall — must carry the visual logic of gravity — while remaining individually precise. The gold dust gradation technique (kirigane and fun-maki gradation) that creates depth in this work requires control over the drying times of multiple lacquer layers simultaneously.
— Deep-Dive Observation — This piece is covered entirely: there is no black ground visible on the exterior. Every centimeter of the surface is resolved into willow — branches, secondary branches, individual leaf-forms, the spaces between them rendered as much through negative space as through line. The gold gradation shifts the tonality across the piece, darker and denser at certain fall-points, lighter where the branches thin. It creates the impression of light moving through the canopy.
The interior is gin-tame-nuri (silver tame lacquer) — a deep, cool silver tone that creates a temperature contrast with the gold exterior. When the lid is lifted, the shift from gold warmth to silver depth is immediate and architectural. This is not a surface choice made for economy; it is a decision about the full experience of the object in use.
The tomobako bears Soshin's hand directly. That inscription changes the category of this piece. It is no longer merely the work of a skilled lacquer artist — it is an object that a significant figure in the tea world held, considered, and named worthy of his attention.
🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ] • Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days • Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking) • Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials • Insurance: Included for all shipments • Note: Import duties and taxes may apply depending on your country's regulations
