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Lot 73
YAMAGUCHI SHŌJŌSAI (1900-1978) A Gold-Lacquer Three-Case Inrō (Medicine Case) in the Form of an Oi (Backpack)
Showa era (1926-1989), mid-20th century
Showa era (1926-1989), mid-20th century
14 December 2023, 17:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$2,816 inc. premium
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YAMAGUCHI SHŌJŌSAI (1900-1978)
A Gold-Lacquer Three-Case Inrō (Medicine Case) in the Form of an Oi (Backpack)
Showa era (1926-1989), mid-20th century
Modeled and decorated as an oi (backpack worn by medieval travelers) with integral himotōshi (cord runners) and decorated predominantly in gold hiramaki-e and takamaki-e with embellishments of hirame gold flakes mimicking all the typical features of an oi including the doors on the back and their fittings, the carrying straps on the front, the four feet for resting the pack on the ground, and the different materials, including wood planks and twill-plaited bamboo panels, used in its construction, the interiors gold nashiji, signed underneath with gold hiramaki-e characters Shōjōsai saku (Made by Shōjōsai) with a red-lacquer seal; with a silk cord and gold-lacquer ojime (bead); lacquered wood storage box inscribed Tsuta no hosomichi on-inrō (Inrō with the Narrow Ivy Road) in allusion to a chapter in Ise monogatari (The Tales of Ise, tenth century), in which travelers pass through an ivy-covered mountain pass
4 3/8in (11cm) high
Showa era (1926-1989), mid-20th century
Modeled and decorated as an oi (backpack worn by medieval travelers) with integral himotōshi (cord runners) and decorated predominantly in gold hiramaki-e and takamaki-e with embellishments of hirame gold flakes mimicking all the typical features of an oi including the doors on the back and their fittings, the carrying straps on the front, the four feet for resting the pack on the ground, and the different materials, including wood planks and twill-plaited bamboo panels, used in its construction, the interiors gold nashiji, signed underneath with gold hiramaki-e characters Shōjōsai saku (Made by Shōjōsai) with a red-lacquer seal; with a silk cord and gold-lacquer ojime (bead); lacquered wood storage box inscribed Tsuta no hosomichi on-inrō (Inrō with the Narrow Ivy Road) in allusion to a chapter in Ise monogatari (The Tales of Ise, tenth century), in which travelers pass through an ivy-covered mountain pass
4 3/8in (11cm) high
Footnotes
Among the best-known of twentieth-century inrō artists, Shōjōsai was born Yamaguchi Shōzaburō in Niigata; disabled by polio at an early age, he used crutches throughout his life and borrowed two characters from the Japanese word for crutches, matsubazue, to form his own art name. After a time spent lacquering mass-produced butsudan (household Buddhist altars) he joined the Tobe studio and began to manufacture inrō and other maki-e items of superior quality, becoming an independent artist in 1928. He made fine inrō both before and after World War II (see plala.or.jp/Pota/makietextweb1/makieweb/shojosairireki/rirekiweb1.html and E. A. Wrangham, The Index of Inrō Artists, Harehope, Northumberland, Harehope Publication, 1995, p.249, which gives an alternative birth date of 1893).