Boxes for the Shell-Matching Game with Scenes from The Tale of Genji 源氏絵彩色貝桶げんじえさいしきかいおけ

Description

Boxes like these held painted seashells for a shell-matching game. They were important in the wedding rituals of feudal lords, as shells with two hinged parts symbolized fidelity.

These are boxes for storing the pieces for a shell-matching game. The game involves matching up pairs of bivalve shells. At the start, 360 shell pairs are divided into left and right. The shells on the right are placed face down. The players pick a shell on the left and try to find the matching shell on the right. The player who finds the most pairs is the winner. Identical images of flora, fauna, or figures are drawn on the inner side of each pair to aid the matching process.

Each bivalve shell has only one match, so the pairs were also used to symbolize faithfulness. This symbolism explains why these boxes for shell-game pieces played a large role in the wedding ceremonies of warrior families during the Edo period. The boxes featured prominently at the front of Daimyo bridal processions and were handed over to the groom's side as part of the ceremony.

The boxes are extravagantly decorated in a manner befitting a lavish wedding ceremony. Gold leaf is pressed onto a coat of gofun, a pigment made from the shells of clams and other shells, with colorful, vivid scenes from The Tale of Genji painted on the surfaces.