The ori-tawame yanagi — the drooping, yielding willow — has long carried in Japanese aesthetics the quality of resilience through surrender. This natsume, made to the Nintokusai-gonomi preference of the Urasenke school's twelfth grand master, holds that sensibility in lacquer.
Minowa Ikko worked dense gold maki-e across the entire surface: weeping willow branches falling in fine gold strands over deep black ground. The coverage is total, leaving no lacquer unspoken. Yet the composition breathes — the willow's character is movement, not stillness, and the artist understood this.
The unique form itself departs from the round standard. The body tapers and tilts, following the gesture of the branch it depicts.
◦ Tradition: Urasenke Nintokusai-gonomi (ori-tawame yanagi natsume) ◦ Artist: 蓑輪一幸 Minowa Ikko ◦ Technique: Dense gold weeping willow maki-e on black lacquer ◦ Form: Ori-tawame (drooping/bent willow form), departing from standard round ◦ Dimensions: W 6.6 cm × H 7 cm ◦ Condition: Excellent ◦ Provenance: Signed wooden box with yellow cord
For the practitioner of chado who wishes to hold a gesture of yielding grace in their hands.
🔹 [ SHIPPING & PACKAGING ] • Dispatch: Within 1-6 business days • Carrier: Japan Post EMS / UPS (with tracking) • Packaging: Carefully wrapped with protective materials
