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Source Description
The design on this writing box shows a courtesan who has just completed an impressive feat of spitting the term<em> shinobukoi</em> (忍恋), which could be translated as “hidden love” or “unrequited love,” on an earthen wall. The phrase appeared in classical Japanese poetry anthologies produced by nobles writing in ink on the finest decorated papers. Here, the confining walls of the brothel district become a space for public announcement in graffiti, with the medium being perhaps tea.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
139451
label
Writing Box with Spitting Courtesan
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
139451
contentType
object
title
Writing Box with Spitting Courtesan
description
The design on this writing box shows a courtesan who has just completed an impressive feat of spitting the term<em> shinobukoi</em> (忍恋), which could be translated as “hidden love” or “unrequited love,” on an earthen wall. The phrase appeared in classical Japanese poetry anthologies produced by nobles writing in ink on the finest decorated papers. Here, the confining walls of the brothel district become a space for public announcement in graffiti, with the medium being perhaps tea.
date
early to mid-1800s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q80036461
genreSpecific
Lacquer
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Box: 21.6 x 19.8 x 3.2 cm (8 1/2 x 7 13/16 x 1 1/4 in.); Closed: 21 cm (8 1/4 in.); Cover: 20.7 x 20.7 cm (8 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.)
cul
Japan, Edo period (1615–1868)
accession
1963.260.a
Source extras
tec
Lacquered wood with maki-e (image made of sprinkled gold dust)
tombstone
Writing Box with Spitting Courtesan (唾を吐く遊女蒔絵硯箱), early to mid-1800s. Japan, Edo period (1615–1868). Lacquered wood with maki-e (image made of sprinkled gold dust); box: 21.6 x 19.8 x 3.2 cm (8 1/2 x 7 13/16 x 1 1/4 in.); closed: 21 cm (8 1/4 in.); cover: 20.7 x 20.7 cm (8 1/8 x 8 1/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Worcester R. Warner Collection, 1963.260.a
titleInOriginalLanguage
唾を吐く遊女蒔絵硯箱
collection
Japanese Art
citations
citation
Lee, Sherman E. “Year in Review for 1963.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em> 50, no. 10 (1963): 263–294.
page_number
Mentioned: no. 64, p. 292; Reproduced: no. 64, p. 284
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 285
citation
The Cleveland Museum of Art. <em>Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 285
citation
Sŏn, Sŭng-hye. <em>The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Ar</em>t. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011.
page_number
cat. no. 3
citation
Franklin, David and C. Griffith Mann.<em> Treasures from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2012.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: pp. 54–55
citation
Franklin, David. <em>The Cleveland Museum of Art.</em> London: Scala Arts & Heritage Publishers Ltd., 2012.
page_number
Reproduced: p. 54 - 55
creditline
Worcester R. Warner Collection
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:08:33.046000
sourceId
139451
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
Lacquered wood with maki-e (image made of sprinkled gold dust)
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
2e1f79e401824906