Tachibana Gyokuzan (active Edo, late 18th century - early 19th century)
Saké Cup: Suruga-cho and Mt. Fuji, mid 19th century
Lacquered wood (hiramakié), 15.2 cm (6 in.)
A lacquered, round, wooden Japanese sake cup. The cup is a shallow bowl decorated with a scene of Mt. Fuji. The scene takes up the bottom half of the dish, while the red sky fills the upper half. Two golden buildings frame the scene. They recede into the distance towards Mt. Fuji, which can be seen in the background with a layer of clouds around the base of the mountain. Two blue pagodas also sit at the base of the mountain, in front of the clouds. A rock wall separates the pagodas from the gold buildings. The face of each gold building has a series of bays with screens. Each screen has a blue top and bottom with a circle in between. Inside the circle is a square with the corners pointing up and down. A few screens have been opened to reveal people sitting in the interior. The building ends that appear closer to the viewer have tall, yellow posts with red banners. Short, black fences break up the building at regular intervals. Between the two buildings are people walking around. The underside of the sake cup is red and has a red paper label in the center.
Lacquered wood (hiramakié), 15.2 cm (6 in.)