Lacquer Box, Fan, and Okina Mask

This Art Institute of Chicago surimono presents a still-life arrangement of three richly auspicious objects: a lacquer box, a folding fan, and an okina mask. Okina is the venerable old-man character of the celebratory no piece of the same name, and the okina mask carries strong associations with longevity, blessing, and ceremonial occasion. Combined with a fan (symbol of unfolding fortune) and a lacquer box (associated with wedding ceremonies and gift-giving), the assembled objects form a tableau of auspicious meaning suitable for New Year, wedding, or other ceremonial surimono commissions. Hokkei renders the objects with the meticulous detail and material specificity characteristic of his still-life surimono - the texture of lacquer surface, the rib patterning of the fan, the dignified planes of the okina mask. The arrangement leaves space for the inscribed kyoka verses that would have engaged the objects' classical and ceremonial associations. The Art Institute's impression preserves the refined printing and likely original metallic dusting characteristic of high-prestige surimono.