National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Cranes with a pine tree branch in their mouths (matsukuizuru) is the motif of the makie on the outer sides and Mt. Penglai (a mystical land in Chinese and Japanese mythology) is that of the makie on the inside. As all of the outer sides are decorated with the crane motif and its shape resembles the lid of a box, it had been kept together with the body of another box as if it was a lid. However, judging from the direction of the cranes on the sides, it was made as a separate piece, with the inner side facing up. Probably, it was used to carry and keep items such as clothes, like hirobuta (lacquered plate with a frame) or midare-bako (shallow box for clothes). The type of makie on this piece is burnished makie (togidashi makie). A variety of techniques, which show the characteristics of the late Heian period, are used elegantly in this masterpiece, such as the use of different densities and sizes of powder and the gradation from gold to silver.