Experience Authentic Japanese Lacquer Art with this Maki-e Tea Caddy. This Nakamura Kosai natsume serves as an Otafuku Natsume and Gold Lacquer Makie vessel, featuring a Black Lacquer Caddy body and Fortune Goddess Motif — a defining Chado Natsume Box for any Japanese Tea Ceremony collector with a Shifuku Silk Pouch and Signed Tomobako Box.
🔹 [ Basic Details ] • Artist: Nakamura Kosai (中村湖彩) • Technique: Black urushi lacquer body with gold maki-e; vermillion interior • Era: Contemporary (2000–2006) • Origin: Japan • Dimensions: Height approx. 6.5 cm, Width approx. 6.6 cm, Weight approx. 44 g • Box: Signed tomobako • Accessories: Orange shifuku silk pouch • Condition: Excellent — no chips, cracks, or wear
🔹 [ Cultural & Artistic Insight ] The chu-natsume holds the powdered tea that will become the first cup. Nakamura Kosai placed Otafuku — the goddess of good fortune — on the lid in gold maki-e. This is not decoration. In the context of chado, it is a greeting: fortune held in a closed hand, waiting to be opened.
The black lacquer exterior achieves the depth that only multiple layers of urushi can produce. The vermillion interior creates a private warmth — visible only to the one who opens it.
"Fortune held in a closed hand — opened only at the moment of preparation."
🔹 [ Deep-Dive Commentary ] Maki-e — literally "sprinkled picture" — is the technique of applying gold or silver powder to wet lacquer. The Otafuku face rendered here demonstrates restrained mastery: the features are suggested rather than detailed, allowing the gold to speak through form rather than line.
The natsume form itself is named after the jujube fruit (natsume) whose shape it echoes. The chu-natsume (medium size) is the most versatile — appropriate for both thin and thick tea preparations.
Nakamura Kosai's work in the Kyoto lacquer tradition emphasizes the relationship between surface and interior. The exterior is public — black, composed, ceremonial. The interior is intimate — warm red, alive with the memory of every tea it has held.
🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ] • Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days • Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking) • Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials
