Large Japanese Black Lacquer Transport Chest with Mōri Kamon, Edo period, Late 18th – Early 19th Century

Large Japanese black lacquer transport chest, adorned with a regular scattering of gold lacquer kamon Nagato omodaka, a heraldic emblem associated with the Mōri family of Hagi. The edges are highlighted with wide gold lacquer chamfers, while the corners, borders, and opening parts are fitted with finely engraved gilt bronze mounts. These mounts feature volute decorations, but also the mon itself, repeated even in the metal fittings, which is a particularly remarkable sign of quality. The contrast of black and gold, the simple yet powerful form, and the insistent repetition of the heraldic decoration give the whole a presence of great nobility.

By its typology, this chest belongs to the group of large Edo period transport chests, known as nagamochi. These chests were used to transport precious effects, clothing, textiles, or documents within aristocratic and feudal houses. In the Japan of the daimyō, they accompanied official journeys, changes of residence, and processions, where they served both a practical purpose and as a representation of status. An example bearing the Nagato omodaka so assertively clearly belongs to the material world of a great warrior house.

The Mōri family is one of the most powerful feudal lineages in Japan. Its political fortune was established in the 16th century with Mōri Motonari, a major figure of the Sengoku period. After the Battle of Sekigahara, the Mōri house lost a significant part of its possessions but maintained considerable status by retreating to the Chōshū domain, centered on Nagato and Suō, with Hagi as its castle town. Hagi remained the center of Mōri power for over two centuries, and the old castle town still retains a significant part of its historical memory today.

The omodaka motif, an aquatic plant with a curved leaf that became an important heraldic motif, is closely linked to the Mōri tradition. The Nagato omodaka refers more specifically to the Hagi branch, meaning the political context of Chōshū during the Edo period. The Mōri family still exists beyond the feudal era, at least as a historical lineage extended into modern Japan, becoming patrimonial after the disappearance of its political role.

A dating to the second half of the Edo period, between the late 18th and early 19th centuries, seems more accurate for this chest. This aligns with a phase when the material culture of great feudal houses reached a high degree of refinement, perceptible here in the repetition of the kamon, the balance of the black and gold decoration, and the exceptional quality of the engraved mounts.

This chest thus constitutes a rare testament to the material culture of power during the Edo period, where transport furniture combined function, prestige, and lineage affirmation. The scattering of kamon, the contained monumentality of the form, and the quality of the decoration make it an object that far exceeds simple domestic use to enter the realm of feudal representation.

The original protective cover, made of red felt adorned with the same embroidered rope ka-mon on a white background, unfortunately in poor condition, is nevertheless preserved in a separate, red lacquered box and kept inside.

Dimensions: width 85.5 cm; depth 38 cm; height 31.5 cm.