Daimeibutsu
Accessories: Inner box, black lacquer; inro case, matching cover paper; certificate of authenticity, written by Lady Seiyakuin
Outer box, black lacquer, gold-leaf lettering; certificate of authenticity
Metal fittings box, certificate of authenticity, written by Matsudaira Fumai
Listed in the Unshu Collection Register
Dimensions
Height: 5.3–24.5 cm; Width: 14.5 cm; Depth: 16.7 cm; Weight: 420 g
While it is difficult to determine with certainty whether Kana-style flower vases are Chinese or Japanese in origin, there is no doubt that the Sunaari Fune flower vase is an imported tin alloy product from the Malay Peninsula. Moreover, these items arrived in Japan around the Muromachi period and continued through the Higashiyama period; they were unloaded in Sakai and became the property of various merchant families. Taking the merchant’s trade name or shop name as the vessel’s name, they have become treasured objects in Japan. The fate of the boat-shaped vases is intriguing. They were likely originally created as fruit containers in their country of origin. Viewed in this light, the Hirata Boat at the Nezu Museum, for example, has a distinctly utilitarian character.
This tradition has continued to the present day, and a list of the owners of these boat-shaped vases reveals a lineup of the nation’s wealthiest families. Specifically, these include the Matsumoto Boat (owned by the Sumitomo family), the Akaneya Boat (owned by the Fujita Art Museum), the Awajiya Boat (owned by the Nomura family), the Hirata Boat (owned by the Nezu Museum), and the Hariya Boat (owned by the Toyama Museum of Art).
The name “Matsumoto-bune” derives from its ownership by Matsumoto Juhō. He was a prominent disciple of Jukō who served the Yamana and Hatakeyama clans; after the Ōnin War, he resigned from public office and settled in Nara. Later, he lived in Higashinotoin, Shijō, Kyoto, where he enjoyed tea ceremonies and became known as the owner of Meibutsu tea utensils such as the Matsumoto Hyōtan, Matsumoto Nasu, Matsumoto Katatsuki, and Matsumoto Chawan.
