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The art of Japanese packaging

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Advertising4632 of 10072Final "Snoopy" comic strip in L.A. Times 02/13/2000Two Old Tins - Honeycomb and Bees
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    Posted 9 years ago

    racer4four
    (619 items)

    Packaging to the Japanese is not just about necessity, it is about art. As anyone who has bought a Japanese artist produced piece of pottery will know, the pottery will arrive in a special wooden box.

    These boxes are called tomobako, and are traditionally made from kiri or paulownia wood. They are beautifully made, with dovetail joints and perfectly matching lids. In fact most will have an artist's stamp that crosses the lid/base joint so the lid is always placed with correct orientation.

    These boxes will have calligraphy on them, usually by the artist, with the artist's name, the name of the piece, and any other information the artist felt was important. When goods are purchased from the artist, the boxes are tied with a coloured ribbon tape, and in a very traditional knot.

    The boxes can be very valuable, adding to the authenticity and value of the piece itself. Tomobako are a tradition going back centuries, and like many traditions they have carried over to newer art forms, like glass art.

    As I buy my glass art second hand, I do not always receive the work in a tomobako, although the price reduces if one is not with the work. Tomobako of the traditional wooden sort only come with one off artist's studio pieces, but even glass art from larger producing companies will usually come in a beautiful box.

    Photo 1 shows a traditional tomobako with ribbon in place (photo from Akira Satake Ceramics).

    Photo 2 shows the tomobako that came with my pink Ueno vase, and it is signed with his name on the lid (and some other hirigana I have yet to translate). The box has been made to fit the vase snugly, and you can see the red stamp which matches the lid to the base.

    Photo 3 shows the type of boxes that comes with higher production glass, dating from the 1950s until the 21st century. All are of heavy cardboard, often double layered, with perfectly fitting lids. They are usually printed with the company name (here we have Hoya, Kurata and Folk Craft), and again have been made to fit the item very well.

    Even the lesser cardboard boxes are very important to me as a collector. Apart from safe storage they help me a lot with dating a piece, and at times identifying the actual producer of otherwise unidentifiable pieces.

    All I can say to you is - think about the box!!

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    Comments

    1. kyratango kyratango, 9 years ago
      Fantastic post, Racer :-)
      Japanese are so refined, even for food presentation!
      If only other countries made This, would be great for id!
    2. racer4four racer4four, 9 years ago
      Thanks KT.....I thought it interesting for everyone.
      I really enjoying this packaging!
    3. sklo42 sklo42, 9 years ago
      Fascinating insight into a culture of which many of us Europeans are woefully ignorant.
    4. Rick55 Rick55, 9 years ago
      So interesting Karen. I never would have thought the Japanese, or any country for that matter, would put so much pride into their packaging. Thanks for sharing!
    5. racer4four racer4four, 9 years ago
      Thanks Peggy and Rick. It was all new to me until a few years ago.
    6. katherinescollections katherinescollections, 9 years ago
      That's a great article, thanks for the information. :)
    7. racer4four racer4four, 9 years ago
      Thanks Katherine.
    8. shareurpassion shareurpassion, 9 years ago
      Ohhh, I absolutely love, love that Karen! I was just talking to someone about doing that, not such nice boxes, of course, but it's a 'branding' thing right?!? Great information and well written! Thank you so much!!!
    9. rhineisfine rhineisfine, 4 years ago
      Robert Yellin wrote a wonderful article on tomobako that you can read on his e-yakimono.net website:
      http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/thebox.HTM

      If you are ever lucky enough to own a piece of Japanese pottery that comes with a box - especially when the box is signed, and/or it includes paperwork, a yellow wrapping cloth marked with the maker's seal, and so forth - do hang onto all these pieces! They establish provenance and, thereby, value as well.

      An example: I once found a small sake cup in a local thrift shop. There was no box, just the cup itself on a shelf filled with trinkets. But the cup was exquisite, and I bought it for the princely sum of $2. I later found another piece online that almost identical to it, with the same potter's signature. This other cup had sold (with its box etc. intact) for $500.

      Since whoever owned the cup (that later became mine) would surely have known better than to separate it from its box, I imagine they had probably passed away, and what had happened was that their heirs - not knowing the importance of the tomobako - had discarded the "packaging" as unnecessary, then taken the cup and a few other items to the nearest consignment store.
    10. racer4four racer4four, 4 years ago
      I have read the Yellin article, very interesting!

      Thanks for the interest Rhineisfine. I’m the happy owner of some pottery and glass in tomobako.

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