A striking black lacquered cabinet covered in maki-e vines by Living National Treasure Takano Shozan encloed in a black lacquered wooden storage box titled Takano Shozan Tsura Maki-e Hako.The top compartment is lined with silk.The hardware is all solid silver.It is 32.5 x 21.5 x 27 cm (13 x 8-1/2 x 11 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Takano Shozan (1889-1976) was born as the eldest son of an elementary school principal, and his grandfather was a Confucian scholar attached to the Hosokawa clan in Kumamoto prefecture. Interested in craftwork since childhood, he studied lacquer art at an industrial school in Kumamoto. He entered the Kyoto City School of Arts and Crafts (currently Kyoto City University of Arts), then transferred to the Tokyo School of Fine Arts (currently Tokyo University of the Arts), where he learned maki-e technique from Designated Imperial Artisan Matsuya Hakuzan. It was from Hakuzna that he received his art name Shozan upon graduating advanced studies in 1919.
Later, with the support of Hosokawa Moritatsu, he moved into the Hosokawa mansion in Mejirodai and began working as the Lord's bodyguard during the day and producing artwork at night. He was first accepted into the Teiten National Exhibition in 1927, and was awarded there in 1932 and 1933. In 1955 (Showa 30), he was designated as a living national treasure in maki-e.In 1958 he helped to found the Shinsho Kogei Crafts Organization. He was awarded the order of cultural merit with purple ribbon in 1965, the Imperial Zuihosho Order of the Sacred treasure fourth rank in 1967 and third rank in 1976.
