Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Court Carriage and Wild Ginger

Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Court Carriage and Wild Ginger

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

This document box is embellished with an ox carriage (Gosho-guruma) that was used by the emperor and empress, and also by aristocrats. Gosho, meaning the Imperial Palace, is an honorific that extended to aristocrats. Court carriages are sometimes also referred to as Genji-guruma, as they were often depicted in paintings associated with the literary classic, The Tale of Genji. The imagery here of the cart and wild ginger refers to the Tale’s ninth chapter, “Leaves of Wild Ginger” (Aoi).

Asian Art

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Document Box (Ryōshibako) with Court Carriage and Wild GingerDocument Box (Ryōshibako) with Court Carriage and Wild GingerDocument Box (Ryōshibako) with Court Carriage and Wild GingerDocument Box (Ryōshibako) with Court Carriage and Wild GingerDocument Box (Ryōshibako) with Court Carriage and Wild Ginger

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.