{"product_id":"inai-gyokuho-sakuragawa-maki-e-natsume-gold-on-black-lacquer","title":"Inai Gyokuho Sakuragawa Maki-e Natsume, Gold on Black Lacquer","description":"A natsume by Inai Gyokuho — gold maki-e fan shapes, cherry blossoms, and flowing water streams drawn with precision and restraint on a deep black urushi ground. Tomobako present. The composition carries the authorship of a maker who understood silence as a design principle.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ BASIC DETAILS ]\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Inai Gyokuho (稲井玉甫)\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Gold maki-e on black urushi lacquer\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: H approx. 7cm × D approx. 6.8cm\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Very good\u003cbr\u003e• Provenance: Tomobako (signed wooden box)\u003cbr\u003e• SKU: 260228_a_2163\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ CULTURAL INSIGHT ]\u003cbr\u003eThe natsume — a small, lidded tea caddy used to hold thin-grade matcha — occupies a precise position in the tea ceremony: it is handled at close range, turned slowly in the hands, and read like a text. Its decoration must therefore possess intimacy as well as depth. The sakuragawa motif — cherry blossoms on moving water — is among the most layered in Japanese visual culture, drawn from classical poetry (waka) and the traditions of Heian courtly aesthetics. Here, Inai Gyokuho deploys fan shapes as compositional anchors — their curved geometry slowing the eye, creating pauses within the flow of water and petals. The cultural weight of this choice is deliberate: fans carry seasonal association, but also the idea of time folded and opened.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ DEEP-DIVE ]\u003cbr\u003eMaki-e — literally \"sprinkled picture\" — is achieved through the application of gold or silver powder onto a lacquer ground before it fully cures. The line work on this natsume is executed in fine togidashi or hira-maki-e technique, where the design sits at or just above the surface plane, creating a subtlety of relief that rewards close inspection. The black urushi ground is deep and non-reflective in a way that distinguishes hand-applied lacquer from industrial reproduction — it absorbs light rather than bouncing it. The interior finish, dark and matte, suggests the functional seriousness of a piece made for actual ceremony use, not cabinet display alone. This is an object with density of intention across every surface.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e稲井玉甫作・桜川蒔絵棗。黒漆地に金蒔絵で扇面・桜花・流水を描く。蒔絵の線描は繊細で、構図に格調がある。共箱付。高さ約7cm・径約6.8cm。状態良好。\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","brand":"The Modern Zen Archive","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":61626878525810,"sku":"260228_a_2163","price":1523.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m98260086530_1.jpg?v=1772289246","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/inai-gyokuho-sakuragawa-maki-e-natsume-gold-on-black-lacquer","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}