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Source Description
The design of this box was inspired by an object in the 1639 lacquer wedding set of Chiyohime, the daughter of the shogun (ruler). Information about the set became available in the Meiji period, leading some lacquer artists to emulate its designs. This box features a scene from the chapter “First Song” (Hatsune) of the <em>Tale of Genji,</em> in which Prince Genji and his love Murasaki enjoy her garden. It incorporates the written characters for “first” (初, <em>hatsu</em>) and “sound” (音, <em>ne</em>), indicating the first song of the warbler in spring, associated with the new year—the water dropper for mixing the ink is in the shape of this bird.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
145100
label
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the “First Song” (Hatsune) Chapter from the Tale of Genji
core
obj
dtoType
object
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
145100
contentType
object
title
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the “First Song” (Hatsune) Chapter from the Tale of Genji
description
The design of this box was inspired by an object in the 1639 lacquer wedding set of Chiyohime, the daughter of the shogun (ruler). Information about the set became available in the Meiji period, leading some lacquer artists to emulate its designs. This box features a scene from the chapter “First Song” (Hatsune) of the <em>Tale of Genji,</em> in which Prince Genji and his love Murasaki enjoy her garden. It incorporates the written characters for “first” (初, <em>hatsu</em>) and “sound” (音, <em>ne</em>), indicating the first song of the warbler in spring, associated with the new year—the water dropper for mixing the ink is in the shape of this bird.
date
early 1900s
rights
CC0
rightsUri
CC0
language
en
wikidata
Q79922965
genreSpecific
Lacquer
imageCount
1
source
import
dimensionsRaw
Overall: 22.8 x 26.7 cm (9 x 10 1/2 in.)
cul
Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
accession
1970.28.a
Source extras
tec
Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e), foil application (kirikane), and metal inlay
tombstone
Writing Box (Suzuribako) with the “First Song” (Hatsune) Chapter from the Tale of Genji (初音蒔絵硯箱), early 1900s. Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912). Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e), foil application (kirikane), and metal inlay; overall: 22.8 x 26.7 cm (9 x 10 1/2 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Newman T. Halvorson, 1970.28.a
titleInOriginalLanguage
初音蒔絵硯箱
collection
Japanese Art
formerAccessionNumbers
1970.28
citations
citation
Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1970.” <em>The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>, vol. 58, no. 2, 1971, pp. 22–71.
page_number
Reproduced: no. 177; Mentioned: p. 71
citation
Grossman, Nancy, James T. Ulak, Marjorie Williams, and Laurence Channing.<em> Art of Japan: Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2005.
page_number
Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 109
citation
Sŏn, Sŭng-hye. <em>The Lure of Painted Poetry: Japanese and Korean Art</em>. Cleveland, OH: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2011.
page_number
cat. no. 81
creditline
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Newman T. Halvorson
updatedAt
2026-05-29 07:27:32.129000
sourceId
145100
dept
Japanese Art
coll
Japanese Art
med
Lacquered wood with gold and silver sprinkled powder (maki-e), foil application (kirikane), and metal inlay
thumbnail_url
image_url
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
316e79242fc9e471