The famous calligrapher Hon'ami Köetsu was also a sword connoisseur, potter, tea master, and lacquer designer. While no piece of lacquer has been definitively assigned to his own hand, Köetsu's creative inspiration is clearly evident in this elegant writing box. In a theme taken from classical Japanese poetry, the cry of the deer, lonely for its mate, pierces the silence of the hills, whose foliage has turned the brilliant hues of autumn. The sense of solitude is emphasized by the black lacquer of the night sky, with the mother-of-pearl inlay of the autumn leaves reflecting silver in the moonlight against the faded gold of the ground. The motif of scattering autumn leaves is carried over into the interior of the box, which is equipped with a water dropper and stone used for preparing ink for writing. Felice Fischer, from Philadelphia Museum of Art: Handbook of the Collections (1995), p. 43.