Portable Stationery and Cosmetic Box (Tabi kushi-bako) with Moon and Autumn Grasses

Portable Stationery and Cosmetic Box (Tabi kushi-bako) with Moon and Autumn Grasses

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

The composition on this box recalls bright moonlight shining on an autumn field. The custom of holding moon-viewing parties (tsukimi) in the autumn is thought to have begun in Japan among aristocrats during the Heian period (794–1185), but later became more common. While participants contemplated the full moon, sake was offered in prayer for an abundant harvest. Poetry composition was often also part of the celebration. The style of the maki-e decoration on this box follows that of the Momoyama-period (1573–1615) Kōdaiji lacquers created in Kyoto for the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537–1598).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Portable Stationery and Cosmetic Box (Tabi kushi-bako) with Moon and Autumn GrassesPortable Stationery and Cosmetic Box (Tabi kushi-bako) with Moon and Autumn GrassesPortable Stationery and Cosmetic Box (Tabi kushi-bako) with Moon and Autumn GrassesPortable Stationery and Cosmetic Box (Tabi kushi-bako) with Moon and Autumn GrassesPortable Stationery and Cosmetic Box (Tabi kushi-bako) with Moon and Autumn Grasses

The Met's collection of Asian art—more than 35,000 objects, ranging in date from the third millennium B.C. to the twenty-first century—is one of the largest and most comprehensive in the world. Each of the many civilizations of Asia is represented by outstanding works, providing an unrivaled experience of the artistic traditions of nearly half the world.