The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 19, 2025

Poem Card Box with Lid

1868–1912

Kamisaka Sekka

(Japanese, 1866–1942)
Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)
wood with lacquer
Overall: 37.5 x 7.1 cm (14 3/4 x 2 13/16 in.)
Seventy-fifth anniversary gift of Leighton R. Longhi 1991.120
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Poems written on long poetry cards, or tanzaku, are often collected into albums called tekagami in Japanese.

Description

Long, decorated cards for the calligraphic presentation of poems are called tanzaku in Japanese. This box is a collaboration between the designer Kamisaka Sekka and the lacquer artist Iwamura Sadazō. Together, they crafted this box with a golden bamboo lid, and filled it with cards decorated with gold leaf designs.
  • ?-1991
    Leighton R. Longhi, New York, NY, given to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1991-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. “The Year in Review for 1992.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, vol. 80, no. 2, 1993, pp. 38–79. Mentioned: no. 393, p. 77 www.jstor.org
  • Rinpa (琳派). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (April 23-October 3, 2021).
    Signs of Affection: Gifts Honoring the Museum's 75th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 1992-January 3, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Poem Card Box with Lid|url=false|author=Kamisaka Sekka|year=1868–1912|access-date=19 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1991.120