{"product_id":"pampas-grass-gold-maki-e-lacquer-tea-caddy-by-saka-kazuo-wajima-natsume","title":"Pampas Grass Gold Maki-e Lacquer Tea Caddy by Saka Kazuo — Wajima Natsume","description":"A Wajima lacquer tea caddy carrying the quiet weight of autumn. Saka Kazuo renders susuki — Japanese pampas grass — in gold maki-e across a ground of deep black urushi, each arching stem and feathery seed head caught mid-sway. This vintage Japanese natsume holds gin-tame-nuri within: silver powder suspended beneath transparent lacquer, glowing like autumn moonlight. An autumn grass tea ceremony piece from Ishikawa Prefecture, shaped for the hand and for the season.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ Basic Details ]\u003cbr\u003e• Artist: Saka Kazuo (坂一男)\u003cbr\u003e• Technique: Gold maki-e (sprinkled gold lacquer painting) on black urushi lacquer; interior gin-tame-nuri (silver-infused transparent lacquer)\u003cbr\u003e• Motif: Susuki (芒\/すすき — Japanese pampas grass), autumn grass (秋草)\u003cbr\u003e• Era: Contemporary (Shōwa–Heisei)\u003cbr\u003e• Origin: Wajima, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan (輪島塗)\u003cbr\u003e• Dimensions: Height approx. 7.2 cm, Diameter approx. 7.3 cm\u003cbr\u003e• Box: Tomobako (artist-signed wooden box) with red seal; tomobukuro (protective cloth) included\u003cbr\u003e• Condition: Excellent — pristine lacquer surface and maki-e decoration, flawless interior finish\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ Cultural \u0026amp; Artistic Insight ]\u003cbr\u003eSusuki — pampas grass — is the defining presence of Japanese autumn. It appears in the Manyōshū, in Heian screen paintings, and in the moon-viewing traditions of tsukimi, where sheaves of susuki are offered beside dango as an expression of gratitude for the harvest. Among the aki no nanakusa (seven grasses of autumn), susuki carries the deepest emotional register: it speaks of transience, of wind made visible, of beauty that does not insist on itself.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe akikusa (autumn grasses) tradition runs through centuries of Japanese court culture. Poets of the Kokinshū saw in these bending grasses a mirror for human feeling — longing, solitude, the particular clarity that comes only when summer's fullness has passed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWajima-nuri represents over six hundred years of accumulated craft knowledge, centered in the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture. It is recognized as the most technically demanding lacquer tradition in Japan, distinguished by the use of jinoko (diatomaceous earth) mixed into the foundation layers, creating a substrate of extraordinary durability and depth.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe gin-tame-nuri interior — silver powder layered beneath coats of transparent lacquer — is a deliberate choice of restraint. Where gold would announce itself, silver recedes, offering warmth without declaration. It is a finishing technique reserved for work of serious intention.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe pampas grass bends but does not break. The autumn wind passes through and leaves its shape unchanged.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ Deep-Dive Commentary ]\u003cbr\u003eWajima lacquerware begins with wood — typically keyaki (zelkova) or hinoki (cypress) — turned and shaped, then reinforced with linen cloth at stress points. What distinguishes Wajima from all other lacquer traditions is the application of jinoko, a powder of calcined diatomaceous earth indigenous to the Noto Peninsula. This mineral foundation, mixed with raw urushi and applied in multiple coats, creates a ground of remarkable hardness and resilience. A single Wajima piece may receive twenty to thirty individual coats of lacquer over the jinoko base, each dried in the humid furo (lacquer-curing chamber), each polished before the next is applied. The result is a surface of extraordinary depth — light enters the lacquer and returns subtly altered, as though the darkness itself has weight.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe maki-e on this natsume demonstrates multiple techniques working in concert. The primary stems and seed heads are rendered in hiramaki-e — gold powder sprinkled onto wet lacquer and then sealed with transparent coats and polished flush with the surface. Certain passages employ togidashi-maki-e, where the gold design is buried under additional lacquer layers and then carefully polished back to the surface, creating a softer, more atmospheric quality. The interplay between bright hiramaki-e lines and the muted warmth of togidashi passages gives the composition its sense of movement — some grasses catch the light directly while others emerge from depth, exactly as susuki appears in an autumn field under shifting clouds.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the seasonal program of chanoyu (tea ceremony), autumn is the season of transition — from the open hearth arrangement of summer (furo) toward the sunken hearth of winter (ro). The natsume, a thin-walled tea caddy for usucha (thin tea), is the vessel most closely associated with seasonal expression. A tea master selecting this piece signals not merely \"autumn\" but a specific emotional register: the expansive melancholy of late autumn, when grasses have gone to seed and the air carries the memory of warmth. The susuki motif would be most appropriate from September through November, particularly for gatherings near the autumnal equinox or during tsukimi.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGin-tame-nuri deserves particular attention. The technique involves sprinkling fine silver powder (gin-fun) across the interior surface, then applying multiple coats of transparent urushi (suki-urushi) over it. As each coat is applied and cured, the silver becomes progressively veiled, producing a luminous, warm-toned interior that shifts between silver and gold depending on the light. This interior treatment transforms the simple act of scooping matcha into a visual experience — the green powder resting against the silvery glow creates a color relationship that speaks directly to the tea aesthetic.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe O-natsume form — the large natsume — indicates this piece is intended for formal use or for serving a larger gathering. Its proportions (7.2 cm height, 7.3 cm diameter) place it in the classic O-natsume range, with a gentle swelling at the shoulder and a lid that seats with quiet precision. When a tea practitioner lifts the lid, the gin-tame-nuri interior is revealed — a private moment of recognition between the maker's intention and the guest's awareness.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e🔹 [ 日本語解説 ]\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【基本情報】\u003cbr\u003e• 作家：坂一男\u003cbr\u003e• 技法：黒漆地に金蒔絵（平蒔絵・研出蒔絵併用）、内部は銀溜塗\u003cbr\u003e• 意匠：芒（すすき）蒔絵　秋草文様\u003cbr\u003e• 時代：現代（昭和〜平成）\u003cbr\u003e• 産地：石川県輪島市（輪島塗）\u003cbr\u003e• 寸法：高さ約7.2cm、径約7.3cm\u003cbr\u003e• 付属：共箱（作家署名・朱印あり）、共布\u003cbr\u003e• 状態：優良 — 漆面・蒔絵ともに極めて良好、内部銀溜塗に傷みなし\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【文化的背景と芸術的意義】\u003cbr\u003e芒は日本の秋を象徴する草花である。万葉集にその姿が詠まれ、平安の屏風絵に描かれ、月見の供え物として今日まで受け継がれてきた。秋の七草のなかでも芒は最も深い情感を宿す——風に揺れる穂先は無常を映し、美しさを主張しない美しさそのものである。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e秋草文様の伝統は、日本の宮廷文化を貫く一本の糸のように続いている。古今集の歌人たちは、しなう草のなかに人の心を見た——恋慕、孤独、そして夏の充溢が過ぎ去ったあとにのみ訪れる、あの透明な富しさを。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e輪島塗は六百年を超える工芸の蓄積を持つ。能登半島に産する地の粉（珪藻土）を下地に用いることで、他に類を見ない堅牢さと深みを実現する。一つの器に二十層から三十層の漆が重ねられ、その都度、室（ふろ）で硬化させ、研ぎ出す。光は漆の内部に入り込み、微かに変容して戻る——闇そのものに重みがあるかのように。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e内部の銀溜塗は、控えめさという選択である。金が自己を主張するところ、銀は退き、宣言なき温もりを差し出す。真攇な仕事にのみ施される仕上げである。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e【技法と茶の湯の文脈】\u003cbr\u003e本作の蒔絵には複数の技法が共存する。主要な茉と穂は平蒔絵——湿漆の上に金粉を蒔き、透漆で封じて研ぎ出す技法——で描かれ、一部には研出蒔絵が用いられている。明るい平蒔絵の線と、柔らかく奥行きのある研出蒔絵との交錯が、構図に動きを与えている。\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e茶の湯の季節の取り合わせにおいて、芒蒔絵の棗は九月から十一月——とりわけ月見や秋分の頃の茶会にふさわしい。大棗の形は、正式な席あるいは大寄せの茶会を想定したものである。蓋を開けた瞬間に現れる銀溜塗の内部は、作り手の意図と客人の気づきとが静かに出会う、私的な瞬間を生む。\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":61622133195122,"sku":"SX1006","price":2644.0,"currency_code":"AED","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/5680\/3698\/files\/m81170927132_1.jpg?v=1772106287","url":"https:\/\/checkout.themodernzenarchive.com\/products\/pampas-grass-gold-maki-e-lacquer-tea-caddy-by-saka-kazuo-wajima-natsume","provider":"The Modern Zen Archive","version":"1.0","type":"link"}