竹内耕斎 – 中棗（茶入れ）配有御所車蒔絵，山中漆器 - 木 - Takeuchi Kōsai - 日本 - Shōwa period (1926-1989)

– Takeuchi Kōsai (竹内幸斎): Yamanaka-based maki-e artist, born 1944 in Ishikawa Prefecture; exhibited at the Ishikawa Prefectural Crafts Exhibition
– Gold maki-e depicting a gosho-guruma (imperial ox-cart) on lacquered wood body
– Medium-sized natsume for the thin-tea ceremony, equally striking as a decorative lacquer object

Summary: A chū-natsume — medium tea caddy for powdered matcha — decorated with gold maki-e by Takeuchi Kōsai, a specialist maki-e artist based in the Yamanaka lacquerware region of Ishikawa Prefecture. The motif is the gosho-guruma, the elegant ox-drawn carriage of the Heian-period court, rendered in sprinkled gold on a deep black lacquer ground. Yamanaka-nuri is one of the three great lacquer traditions of the Kaga region, and Takeuchi Kōsai's work sits firmly within this distinguished heritage.

There is something profoundly tactile about a fine Japanese natsume. The smooth, warm surface of lacquered wood invites the hand, and the precisely fitted lid lifts and seats with a quiet, satisfying contact — a small sensory pleasure that tea practitioners have cherished for centuries.

Takeuchi Kōsai was born in 1944 in Yamanaka-machi, Ishikawa Prefecture, the heartland of Yamanaka lacquerware production. He trained as a maki-e artist and established himself independently in 1981. His work has been recognised at the Ishikawa Prefectural Craft Exhibition, among other venues, and he is known for confident, expressive maki-e compositions on traditional tea utensil forms.

The gosho-guruma motif on this natsume is steeped in courtly association. The ox-cart was the conveyance of Heian aristocrats — a symbol of refinement, leisure, and the pageantry of the imperial capital. In decorative arts, the gosho-guruma often appears alongside flowers or trailing ribbons, evoking the processions and festivals of classical Kyoto. It is a motif that transcends season, making this natsume suitable for use throughout the year.

The maki-e technique itself involves painting the design in lacquer, then sprinkling fine gold powder onto the wet surface before it hardens. Successive layers of lacquer and powder build depth and lustre, and the final polishing reveals the design in its full radiance against the dark ground.

The black lacquer body provides an ideal canvas — its deep, mirror-like finish amplifies the warmth of the gold and gives the gosho-guruma a sense of floating presence. The proportions of the chū-natsume (medium size) are comfortable in two hands and well suited to both Omotesenke and Urasenke tea practice.

Condition appears very good, with the lacquer retaining its depth and the maki-e decoration intact and well preserved. Consistent with careful storage.

A graceful and usable work of Kaga lacquer art — equally at home in the tea room and on a collector's shelf.

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