Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro

Japan

On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 223

There was a long tradition of imaginary portraits of Kakinomoto no Hitomaro (ca. 660–724), among Japan’s greatest poets. Here, he leans on an armrest, immersed in thought—a pose first used in the Kamakura period (1185–1333). Depicting distant sails, morning fog, and the coastal pines of Akashi Bay, the interior of the box references Hitomaro’s most famous waka, compiled in 905 in the Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Kokin wakashū).

Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e and cutout gold- and silver-foil application; lead rim, Japan

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Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e and cutout gold- and silver-foil application; lead rim, Japan
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e and cutout gold- and silver-foil application; lead rim, Japan
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the Poet Kakinomoto no Hitomaro, Lacquered wood with gold and silver takamaki-e and hiramaki-e and cutout gold- and silver-foil application; lead rim, Japan

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