Minneapolis Institute of Art

(Fuchi-gashira box)

Japan

Date

late 19th century

Medium

Shakudō, silver, copper, and gold

Department

Asian Art

Institution

Minneapolis Institute of Art

A matching set of collar (fuchi) and pommel (kashira) sword fittings have been reworked here into a pill box. The layman Kitagawa Sōten (18th century) of Hikone in Omi province made the pair in the late 18th century. Sōten was originally from Kyoto and was first called Hidenori, later using the name Mogarashi (also pronounced Sōheishi). The Sōten school was well-known for employing Chinese motifs on their works that have, like this example, a background of shakudō (copper-gold alloy) with small punched dots (nanako) decorated with copper, silver, and gold high relief inlays (takazōgan). This pair was reworked in the late 19th century into a pill box where the pommel became the lid and the collar the base with a silver capsule inside. Japan, Asia

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