Japanese Boxes, We Like?

[Bugyotsuji]

Dave, everyone needs one of these!
Just as back in the day, a very useful box for bits. Blade cleaning tools, registration cards etc. 

[Bugyotsuji]

Just sorting through some old katana-bako and decided to take a couple of shots. I realized again that boxes with characters on them attract me. 

Left. Has a date on the bottom and is tied shut with cords through slits in the base.

 

Right. Says 刀箱 katana-bako on the top, and is dated under the lid.

 

Middle. Narrower one covered with oiled paper(?), has a 3-shaku+ (100cm) sliding drawer inside with an iron lockwork drawer face.

 

 

 

 

[Bugyotsuji]

The middle one, no writing apparent.

 

[Viper6924]

5 hours ago, Bugyotsuji said:

I realized again that boxes with characters on them attract me. 

I can’t but agree with you on that 🙂

One thing that often surprises me is how Japanese sellers often ignore to mention characters present on boxes etc. I suspect that many of them can’t translate old-style Japanese. 
To me added characters adds a lot of historical value.

 

Jan

[Bugyotsuji]

I don’t think many of them realize how much non-Japanese people value such seemingly innocent records of age as a brush-written owner’s name and date. Thus dealers will see the writing, but accord no further thought to it, having little meaning within the Japanese context.

[Viper6924]

Quite often they overlook the fact that the artifact comes with a date. On several occations I bought items labeled as 20th century by the seller. You have helped me with countless of these boxes. I’ve got a tabacco bon dated to 1840 and a Bamboo vase from 1811. I’ve bought these items for close to nothing. Something tells me that the seller would have upt his price if he knew that they carried that beautiful label ”Edo period”. Not that I complain 🙂🙂🙂

 

Jan

[waljamada]

Here's a laquered painted box which I'm sure is just a tourist piece that I got at a Goodwill.  It's a catch all box now...

[Spartancrest]

Just stumbled on this thread- great boxes shown.

I bought a falling apart box that may have once contained tea ceremony pieces or vase ? Anyway the joints were giving out and some shelves were broken or lost. I cleaned and tightened the fixings [square wooden pins] and gave it a coat of Danish oil. Also made a wooden locking pin that was missing from the door and fitted some clamps to hold a magnifying glass [which also doubles as a handle for the door]. Useful small item container now.

I was intrigued by the way the wood joinery was done on the door - absolute precision work.

[Bugyotsuji]

Definitely tea ceremony utensils. Nice reworking!

[Spartancrest]

Does a small tansu count as a box? Mine has some paper with script on the back, found it at a local antique show here in Tasmania [long way from it's original home] a few missing straps and one door plate is damaged. It houses my overflow tsuba collection.

 

[kissakai]

Hi Dale

I think most of us would like to find a box like yours. Very nice.

This is mine:

 

 

 

It needs a a bit of a polish but I like the grain as it looks like a pebble that has been thrown into a pool

 

[Bugyotsuji]

Whoah guys, we don’t want to raise the level too high! Lovely stuff… Older wood takes on lustrous tones. For me the nuttier the better.

 

Oh and Dale, tansu, why not? No need to start a separate thread. The more the merrier. 

[Spartancrest]

Grev the grain in the wood and the handles  - superb!

[the metal straps are also better than mine, which I fear are made of old tins!]

Piers, I fear some of the "nuttier" patina on mine might be peanut butter [or at least dried food stains  ]

[kissakai]

Dale. I still like yours