Returned to lender The Met accepts temporary loans of art both for short-term exhibitions and for long-term display in its galleries.
Obi (Kakeshita-obi) with Shell-Matching Game Boxes
Not on view
This type of ceremonial, formal obi would have been coordinated with a robe with long sleeves (furisode) worn beneath an over robe (uchikake) for a merchant-class bride. The underside of the light blue sash has auspicious crane and cloud patterns, while the front depicts accoutrements of the shell-matching game (kai-awase), which was closely associated with weddings. The goal of the game, which became a popular courtly pastime in the late Heian period (794–1185), was to pair as many matching halves of clamshells as possible. In its most elaborate form, the game was played with 360 paired clamshells, the number reflecting the average number of days in a year.
On view from June 7, 2022 – February 20, 2023
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