Natsumé / “Kaïawasé” makié matcha box

Flat "Hira natsumé" matcha box in lacquered wood with shell pattern richly decorated in makié and mother-of-pearl. "Kaiawase" (shell matching game) is an aristocratic game from the Heian period (794-1185) in which the goal is to find a shell that matches one of 360 shells lined up in a row. Originally, aristocrats competed on the beauty, rarity, color, size and shape of shells. The interior of the shells is decorated with exquisite paintings from The Tale of Genji and other stories, reminiscent of the world of elegance of the Heian period. The "Kaiawase" motif represents marital bliss, because bivalves, like the hamaguri clam, can only be combined exactly with paired shells.