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Lot Essay
According to the accompanying document by Maeda Kosetsu (1841-1916), a calligrapher and a board member of The Imperial Museum (precursor of the Tokyo National Museums) and the Ryuchikai (precursor of the Japan Art Association), dated January 1911, this set was made for a special order to celebrate the 70th year of Viscount Shibusawa Eiichi. The original design was by Kishi Kokei (1839-1922) and the lacquer work was executed by Uematsu Hobi (1872-1933) and Funabashi Shumin (1859-after 1914).
Shibusawa Eiichi (1840-1931) was a leading figure in the development of Japan’s modern society and is known as the “father of Japanese capitalism”. He was born in a farmhouse in Chiaraijima Village, present day Saitama Prefecture, and grew up helping the family business of farming and selling indigo. He then moved to Kyoto and served under Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu (later Tokugawa Yoshinobu; 1837-1913, the last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate). At the age of 27, he visited Europe and the Paris International Exposition in 1867 as a shogunal retainer to Tokugawa Akitake. This visit to Europe gave him a deep insight into modern European society which influenced his later activities towards Japan’s industrial and economic development. After his return to Japan he established Shokokaisho, the first joint stock company in Japan, and then served in the Ministry of Finance of the new Meiji Government introducing economic reforms. After leaving the government he became president of First National Bank, the first modern bank in Japan. He was also known to support social welfare, education and private-sector diplomacy and contributed to the founding of hospitals, schools, universities and charitable organisations including the Japanese Red Cross Society. For more about Shibusawa Eiichi, go to the website of Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation:
https://www.shibusawa.or.jp/english/eiichi/biography.html
The open shape of fans (suehirogari) symbolises prosperity, which would be an appropriate motif for celebrating Shibusawa’s longevity. The designs in the fans were thoughtfully selected; Shibusawa is known to have revered the Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (Japanese: To Enmei; 365-427). Shibusawa owned a house and a large garden in a tranquil area of Asukayama and a calligraphic work of Tao Yuanming’s poem by the last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu was hung on the wall of one room.
The ryoshibako portrays Tao Yuanming’s poetry as well as the beauty of changing seasons. One fan on the cover depicts kashiwa leaves [Japanese Emperor Oak] and pine needles. Kashiwa was the family crest of Shibusawa family and pine symbolises longevity and prosperity. Another fan has chrysanthemum, the flower loved by Tao Yuanming. One fan on the inside of the cover with calligraphy of a poem by Tao Yuanming. The snow-capped Mount Fuji on another fan symbolises the integrity of Shibusawa. The design of cranes and pine, bamboo and plum on the side of the box is another connotation of longevity.
The bundai shows another garden scene to the central fan with a famous pine tree visited by generations of Tokugawa shoguns. Snow-covered, the pine again symbolises longevity. Two famous sacred mountains are depicted, Mount Fuji on the ryoshibako and Mount Tsukuba on the bundai.
The artists involved in this work are:
Kishi Kokei was a Teishitsu Gigei-in [Imperial Artist] who was active mainly during the Meiji period. He is known to have contributed the resurgence of art and crafts in Japan.
Uematsu Hobi was the son of the Tokyo lacquer artist Uematsu Homin (1845-1902). They were from a long line of lacquerers working in a traditional style.
Funabashi Shumin was a pupil of Uematsu Homin. He won a silver medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition in 1904. The last recorded data about the artist is a bronze medal he won at an exhibition in Tokyo in 1914.
For an Imperial presentation box (tebako) by Funabashi Shumin see T. Goke, J. Hutt and E. W. Wrangham, Meiji no takara: Treasures of Imperial Japan, Lacquer (London: Kibo Foundation, 1995), vol. 2, no. 230 and Jan Dees, “Japanese Imperial Presentation Boxes 1900-1930”, Oriental Art, vol. 43, no. 1 (1997), fig. 5, p. 4.
Shibusawa Eiichi (1840-1931) was a leading figure in the development of Japan’s modern society and is known as the “father of Japanese capitalism”. He was born in a farmhouse in Chiaraijima Village, present day Saitama Prefecture, and grew up helping the family business of farming and selling indigo. He then moved to Kyoto and served under Hitotsubashi Yoshinobu (later Tokugawa Yoshinobu; 1837-1913, the last shogun of the Tokugawa shogunate). At the age of 27, he visited Europe and the Paris International Exposition in 1867 as a shogunal retainer to Tokugawa Akitake. This visit to Europe gave him a deep insight into modern European society which influenced his later activities towards Japan’s industrial and economic development. After his return to Japan he established Shokokaisho, the first joint stock company in Japan, and then served in the Ministry of Finance of the new Meiji Government introducing economic reforms. After leaving the government he became president of First National Bank, the first modern bank in Japan. He was also known to support social welfare, education and private-sector diplomacy and contributed to the founding of hospitals, schools, universities and charitable organisations including the Japanese Red Cross Society. For more about Shibusawa Eiichi, go to the website of Shibusawa Eiichi Memorial Foundation:
https://www.shibusawa.or.jp/english/eiichi/biography.html
The open shape of fans (suehirogari) symbolises prosperity, which would be an appropriate motif for celebrating Shibusawa’s longevity. The designs in the fans were thoughtfully selected; Shibusawa is known to have revered the Chinese poet Tao Yuanming (Japanese: To Enmei; 365-427). Shibusawa owned a house and a large garden in a tranquil area of Asukayama and a calligraphic work of Tao Yuanming’s poem by the last shogun Tokugawa Yoshinobu was hung on the wall of one room.
The ryoshibako portrays Tao Yuanming’s poetry as well as the beauty of changing seasons. One fan on the cover depicts kashiwa leaves [Japanese Emperor Oak] and pine needles. Kashiwa was the family crest of Shibusawa family and pine symbolises longevity and prosperity. Another fan has chrysanthemum, the flower loved by Tao Yuanming. One fan on the inside of the cover with calligraphy of a poem by Tao Yuanming. The snow-capped Mount Fuji on another fan symbolises the integrity of Shibusawa. The design of cranes and pine, bamboo and plum on the side of the box is another connotation of longevity.
The bundai shows another garden scene to the central fan with a famous pine tree visited by generations of Tokugawa shoguns. Snow-covered, the pine again symbolises longevity. Two famous sacred mountains are depicted, Mount Fuji on the ryoshibako and Mount Tsukuba on the bundai.
The artists involved in this work are:
Kishi Kokei was a Teishitsu Gigei-in [Imperial Artist] who was active mainly during the Meiji period. He is known to have contributed the resurgence of art and crafts in Japan.
Uematsu Hobi was the son of the Tokyo lacquer artist Uematsu Homin (1845-1902). They were from a long line of lacquerers working in a traditional style.
Funabashi Shumin was a pupil of Uematsu Homin. He won a silver medal at the Louisiana Purchase Exhibition in 1904. The last recorded data about the artist is a bronze medal he won at an exhibition in Tokyo in 1914.
For an Imperial presentation box (tebako) by Funabashi Shumin see T. Goke, J. Hutt and E. W. Wrangham, Meiji no takara: Treasures of Imperial Japan, Lacquer (London: Kibo Foundation, 1995), vol. 2, no. 230 and Jan Dees, “Japanese Imperial Presentation Boxes 1900-1930”, Oriental Art, vol. 43, no. 1 (1997), fig. 5, p. 4.