【National Treasure】
Ancient Divine Treasure, Property of the Primary Deity
Black-Lacquer Vanity Box
This two-tiered vanity box once stored cosmetics necessary for a lady of the Heian-period (794–1185) court, including hairstyling accessories and various kinds of makeup. The shallow upper compartment likely held a small hand mirror. A vanity box was often included in a young woman’s wedding trousseau as one of the items needed to begin life in a new household.
This particular box was offered to Himegami, one of the primary deities of Kasugataisha Shrine. It is thought to have contained cosmetics such as iron filings for blackening the teeth or lead- and mercury-based foundation for whitening the face. The exterior was originally decorated with silver, of which only traces remain.
A similar box is mentioned in The Tale of Genji, a classic of Japanese literature written by Murasaki Shikibu (978–1014). The book’s description indicates that, even then, the design of the box was considered old-fashioned. Large vanity boxes like this one were eventually replaced by smaller boxes with simpler, single-compartment designs.
この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。