Writing Box (Suzuribako) with “Dream in Naniwa” Design

Writing Box (Suzuribako) with “Dream in Naniwa” Design

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Writing boxes hold an inkstone (suzuri), a water dropper, and writing brushes. As with this example, they are often decorated with images featuring literary references. This box is embellished with a design referring to Naniwa (present-day Osaka), one of the famous scenic spots of Japan. The poem depicted on its exterior and inscribed on the lids’s interior is from New Collection of Poems Ancient and Modern (Shin kokin wakashū, ca. 1206). Tsu no kuni no Naniwa no haru wa yume nare ya Ashi no kareha ni kaze wataru nari Was spring at Naniwa in Tsu Province a dream? Wind blows over the withered reeds’ leaves. —Trans. Haruo Shirane

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Writing Box (Suzuribako) with “Dream in Naniwa” DesignWriting Box (Suzuribako) with “Dream in Naniwa” DesignWriting Box (Suzuribako) with “Dream in Naniwa” DesignWriting Box (Suzuribako) with “Dream in Naniwa” DesignWriting Box (Suzuribako) with “Dream in Naniwa” Design

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.