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Footed lacquer tray and dishes for special occasions. This set was used by
an old Kyoto family for New Year's celebrations. The deeper bowls are for
rice and miso shiru (bean-paste soup); the shallower one, for a side
dish. The white paper, with the Chinese character for long life and the
knotted gold-and-silver paper string known as a mizuhiki, contains
chopsticks. Both the tray and the bowls are adorned with the crane crest
of the family. Men's dishes are of red lacquer; women's, of black.
Red-lacguer sake cup inscribed in gold with the character kotobuki
(or ju), meaning felicitations and logevity.
Handled tiered boxes (sageru jubako) are designed for carrying lunches
on outings to view the cherry blossoms or the autumn leaves. Like the set
shown here, they are often richly decorated.
Lidded rice container and rice server in red lacquer. Elegant ware of this kind is used for the kaiseki meals associated with the tea cremony.
Chadansu, or chest for storing dishes, containers for sweets, and
various other utensils used in the tea ceremony. This one is finished in
the Kyo-Negoro style of lacquer, in which, as the object is used over the
years, the lower layer of black lacquer begins to show through the uppper
layer of red.
