Pair of kaioke with fan decoration, Ichijō family kamon

Japan, Edo period, late 18th - early 19th century. Black roiro lacquer, gold maki-e decoration on a black ground and on gold grounds, using different densities and shades of gold powder.

This pair of kaioke (貝桶), literally "shell containers," was intended to store and display the shells used for kai-awase, an aristocratic shell-matching game. The Japanese term does not use hako / bako, "box," but oke, which refers to a cylindrical container or tub; this nuance corresponds to the tall shape of these large ceremonial vessels.

The boxes have a cylindrical shape with cut corners and each rest on a footed tray. The black roiro lacquer surface is enlivened by a decoration of unfurled fans. Each fan forms a pictorial reserve, with landscapes, floral motifs, and decorative compositions rendered in gold maki-e. The alternation of black grounds, gold grounds, and brown-gold nuances gives the decoration a strong presence without disrupting the overall balance.

The trays bear kamon identified as those of the Ichijō family. This heraldic presence places the object in a context of aristocratic commission or use, and not in ordinary decorative production.

The Ichijō family, or Ichijō-ke, belongs to the go-sekke, the five regent houses descended from the Fujiwara clan, along with the Konoe, Kujō, Nijō, and Takatsukasa. During the Edo period, these lineages maintained considerable court prestige and remained associated with the highest aristocratic offices, particularly those of sesshō and kampaku. The presence of the Ichijō kamon on kaioke thus links the set to a very high aristocratic milieu, where lacquer objects participated in family ceremonial and the affirmation of rank.

Kai-awase consisted of finding the two valves of the same shell. In the context of marriage, this game took on a strong symbolic value: two valves from the same shell could only match each other, evoking marital union, fidelity, and the harmony of the couple. Kaioke were thus among the refined objects of the aristocratic trousseau.

Good state of preservation. Minimal traces of use consistent with the age of the set.

Dimensions: height 35 cm; diameter 48 cm.