Pair of kai-awase game boxes – kamon from the Ichijō family

Japan, Edo period, early 19th century

Black and brown lacquer with gold accents, engraved and gilded brass fittings

Height 44 cm – diameter 39 cm

A pair of Japanese boxes in dark brown lacquer, cylindrical in shape with ribbed edges, resting on four lacquered feet. Each is decorated on its sides and on the top of the lid with the kamon (heraldic emblem) of the Ichijō family, represented by the character "一" (ichi, "one") inscribed within a circle (Ichimonji maru). This remarkably simple motif symbolizes unity and integrity, values associated with this lineage descended from the powerful Fujiwara clan.

The decoration is completed by engraved and gilded brass ornamentation with floral scroll motifs, which reinforces the feet, the rims of the lids, and certain parts of the body. These finely crafted fittings also incorporate the kamon at the center of the scrolls, creating a subtle interplay between gilded metal and dark lacquer. The piece retains its original balance and an intact luster, with only a few discreet signs of wear, characteristic of an early 19th-century court object.

These boxes were intended for kai-awase (貝合わせ), literally "shell matching," a refined game that originated in the imperial court of the Heian period (8th–12th centuries). It consisted of finding the two halves of a single clam shell, the interior of which was often painted with poetic scenes. Because each shell only fits with its original half, this game became a symbol of perfect marital union. Kai-awase sets were thus given as gifts at aristocratic weddings, reflecting the rank and wealth of the families who commissioned them.

The Ichijō family (一条家), founded in the 13th century by Fujiwara no Tadamichi (1097–1164), descends from the prestigious Fujiwara clan, which dominated the imperial court for several centuries. The Ichijō-ke was one of the five great regent houses (go-sekke), whose members held the highest offices of state, including those of sesshō (regent for a minor emperor) and kampaku (regent for a full-grown emperor). Their name derives from Ichijō Street in Kyoto, where their main residence was located. During the Edo period, the Ichijō maintained their status as high nobility (kuge), allied with imperial circles and families of scholars and courtiers. Their emblem, the Ichimonji maru, remains one of the most instantly recognizable symbols of the Japanese aristocracy.

The collection presented here, with its great stylistic coherence and remarkable quality of execution, testifies to the refinement of lacquer arts at the end of the Edo period and to the survival, in material culture, of symbolic codes inherited from the imperial court.

Historical note

The game of kai-awase is mentioned several times in classical Japanese literature, notably in the Tale of Genji (11th century), where it appears as an entertainment reserved for court ladies. In the chapter Hana no en ("The Flower Festival"), painted seashells become a metaphor for the bonds of fate and harmonious unions. This game, the ultimate refinement of Heian culture, illustrates the Japanese concept of harmony: two halves that, once reunited, become a perfect whole.