suzuribako　硯箱

KEY WORD :　art history / paintings

A box designed to hold an inkstone *suzuri 硯 and other writing tools, such as an ink stick *sumi 墨 and ink-stick holder sumibasami 墨挾, water-dropper *suiteki 水滴, brush fude 筆, small sword tousu 刀子, and awl kiri 錐. Suzuribako were first imported from China and two kinds appear to have been produced in Japan for the first time in around the early 10c. One, a two-tiered box, nijuubako 二重箱, included the inkstone in the center of the upper box flanked by brush holders, small sword, ink and awl. The lower box held a tile inkstone on the left side, and a water-dropper, with a stand for a scroll kansudai 巻子台 on the right. The other type of box was a single-level style including a water-dropper and tile inkstone on the left, and brush racks on the right. These were lacquered wooden boxes decorated with designs of various colors, gold and silver in the *maki-e 蒔絵 technique and mother-of-pearl inlays *raden 螺鈿. From around the mid-13c, two new styles of suzuribako emerged: hikka 筆架 style with penracks, and kakego 懸子 style of nesting boxes. In the hikka style the inkstone and water-dropper are positioned in the center with raised structures for the brushes, small sword, and other utensils arranged on both sides. In the kakego style, the inkstone and water-dropper fit into a separate box which rests in the center and the other tools are arranged in boxes which nest on either side. Later, the inkstone and water-dropper were placed on the left side in a variation of the kakego style. The decoration of lacquer suzuribako reached its zenith of technical precision, poetic nuance and beauty in the 14-16c. Suzuribako became an important item of interior decoration in the guest room *zashiki 座敷 of a *shoin 書院 style residence. Quite a few fine examples survive from this period. Since the 17c, classic style suzuribako have continued to be reproduced and, in addition, excellent examples with bold patterns in precious metals and mother-of-pearl inlay were created by Hon'ami Kouetsu 本阿弥光悦 (1558-1637) and the *Rinpa 琳派 artists. There was also a demand for portable and stacked-box styles from this time.

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