Natsumé / “Genjiguruma” makié matcha box

Flat matcha box "Hira natsumé" in lacquered wood with a chariot wheel motif immersed in the river in makié made by Harumasa, lacquerer in Fukui. In the Heian period (794-1185), after the annual May festival "Aoi matsuri", the wooden wheels of the ox carts used by the nobility "Genjiguruma" were washed and immersed in the current of the river to prevent them from drying out. The “katawaguruma” motif representing this scene superimposes the wheel that turns with running water on the transitions of life, thus expressing the perception of the evanescence of life.