A nami-guruma maki-e o-natsume by Shitsusendo — waves and ox-cart wheels rendered in elaborate gold maki-e across a dark ground, silver interior, bearing the inscription of Omotesenke Jingyusai, the 12th Grand Master. In the world of Japanese tea ceremony, a kanemono (書付, grand master's inscription) on a utensil is not decoration. It is authentication, consecration, and a direct line of transmission from the iemoto tradition to the present gathering.
The nami-guruma motif — waves meeting the wheel of the gissha ox-cart — is one of the great classical designs of Japanese decorative art, drawn from Heian court imagery. The ox-cart (gissha) was the aristocratic vehicle of the Heian period; when depicted half-submerged in waves or surrounded by seasonal plants, it accumulates the particular melancholy of things elegant and passing. Here, rendered in detailed gold maki-e with swirling wave patterns embedding the wheel forms across the entire surface, the motif achieves its full ambition.
Jingyusai (尋牛斎, 1938–2000) served as the 12th Grand Master of the Omotesenke school of tea — one of the three main lineages descending from Sen no Rikyu. A piece bearing his inscription was evaluated and endorsed during his lifetime, entering a documented provenance that gives the utensil standing in any serious collection.
Dimensions: approximately 7.0cm diameter, 7.0cm height. Silver interior. Shitsusendo studio mark.
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