Jōbōji Red Lacquer Auspicious Pattern Hōrai Box

This is a Jōbōji Hōraibako, a traditional craft from Iwate Prefecture in the Tohoku region.

It features the auspicious Hōrai pattern, symbolizing good fortune, with cranes, turtles, pine, and bamboo dynamically depicted in a single shade of red lacquer.

While the main body of this box has been lost to time, only the lid and the shallow tray beneath it have been passed down to the present day.

The lid, adorned with a lustrous painting, is quite appealing, isn't it? Its detached nature is precisely what makes it special.

It can serve as a tray for sake cups. It's also perfectly sized for a sencha tea tray. Notably, the rim of the tray rises only 0 cm, and if you flip it over with the painting facing up, the rim becomes negative.

There is no more luxurious tray than this. Of course, its original purpose was as part of a dowry, so it would also be suitable for storing makeup or personal belongings.

Regarding its condition, the painted lid rests on the tray. The tray itself has cracks and gaps, and you should expect to find scuffs and impact marks.

The size is approximately 29 cm in length, 20.8 cm in width, and 1.5 cm in height for the lid, as shown in image 2.