Kutani Meizan Koro Tomobako 九谷明山香炉 供箱

  For the longest time, I wished that the Japanese porcelain pieces in my collection had their original wood box, called Tomobako, or Kyō-bako in Japanese, and although there are many Japanese porcelain pieces on the market in their original box, I decided to look around and see if I could find any Tomobako for sale.

  I found this one on an online auction site, and although it was part of a lot of mixed boxes of different kinds, I was only interested in the Japanese Tomobako, so I contacted the seller and asked if he would sell it to me without the others in the lot.  Fortunately for me he said yes.

  It is seal marked Kutani Meizan, 九谷明山.  The small seal in the upper right reads Kutaniyaki, 九谷焼.  The calligraphy in the center reads Koro, 香炉, the Japanese word for incense burner.   The calligraphy above the seal reads 明山造, Meizan zo. (Made by Meizan).

Now all I need is to find a Kutani Meizan Koro to go in this box, as well as more Tomobako and Japanese porcelain with their original Tomobako. :)

Thank you to my friend and neighbor Miho Takahashi for the calligraphy translation.