Three Deer in a Field of Gold: The Akino Shika Maki-e Tebako
On the domed lid of a lacquer box measuring just 29.7 by 22.7 centimeters, a family of deer rests in a field of flowering bush clover. A stream winds past earthen banks. Sprinkled gold catches the light differently on the rocks, the plant stems, and the animals' backs, so the small scene shifts in tone as you move around it. This is the Akino Shika Maki-e Tebako, a "hand box with autumn field and deer in maki-e," made in the Kamakura period (1185 to 1333) and kept for centuries by Izumo Taisha, one of the oldest and most revered Shinto shrines in Japan.
A tebako was a box for personal effects: combs, cosmetics, writing tools, the small equipment of an aristocratic household. The finest examples were lavished with maki-e, the technique of drawing designs in wet lacquer and sprinkling them with gold or silver powder before polishing. Many such boxes survive today because they were dedicated to shrines as sacred treasures, and that appears to be how this one reached Izumo, in present-day Shimane Prefecture, though the donor and the date of the offering are unrecorded.
The box stands 16.1 centimeters high. Its lid and body meet in a flush aikuchi joint finished with a rim of tin, and gilt-bronze ring fittings pierced with openwork clusters of bush-clover blossoms are fixed to its sides. Inside sit two tiers of fitted trays. The Japanese government designated it an Important Cultural Property in 1902 and elevated it to National Treasure status on March 29, 1952.
Why It Became a National Treasure
Japanese lacquer scholars read this box as a hinge between two eras. The Agency for Cultural Affairs notes that its overall mood preserves the refined elegance of Heian-period (794 to 1185) court taste, while its physical form announces the new Kamakura age: the lid swells higher, the sides bulge outward with a fuller volume, and the pictorial design grows denser and more closely observed than the spare, formalized patterns favored earlier.
The technique tells the same story. The ground is nashiji, a "pear-skin" surface created by sprinkling fine gold flakes into the lacquer, and over it the artisans worked togidashi maki-e, in which the design is buried under further coats of lacquer and then polished back until it emerges flush with the surface, luminous and smooth to the touch. Pieces of iridescent shell, the inlay technique called raden, are set among the gold. The makers varied their metal powders deliberately, using nashiji within the rocks, the foliage, and the backs of the deer to produce changes of color inside a single motif. That command of so many powder-sprinkling methods on one small object is, in the official assessment, a hallmark of Kamakura maki-e at its peak.
Open the box and the decoration continues. The underside of the lid and the inner trays carry togidashi maki-e of ominaeshi (golden lace flower), sasarindo gentian, and willow rising from earthen banks, a quieter autumn answering the abundance outside.
Reading the Autumn Field
Deer and bush clover are an old pairing in Japanese art. In classical poetry the stag's cry in autumn, sounding across fields of hagi, became a fixed image of longing, and craftsmen returned to it for centuries on mirrors, textiles, and lacquer. Here the convention is handled with unusual naturalism. Rather than scattering emblematic motifs across the surface, the design composes a continuous landscape: the stream, the banks, the wind-blown hagi, and the deer settled among the flowers as if observed rather than invented. The Tokyo National Museum chose the box for its 2020 exhibition "Izumo and Yamato," where it represented the artistic wealth dedicated to the great shrine over the centuries.
Look closely at the surface textures if you have the chance. The polished togidashi passages read as still water and smooth hide, while the granular nashiji areas flicker. The contrast does quiet work, separating rock from grass and animal from ground without a single drawn outline.
One practical note tempers the enthusiasm: the original is shown only rarely. Most visitors to Izumo Taisha encounter a faithful replica on display in the shrine's treasure hall, with the original brought out for special occasions, such as a public showing at the shrine in spring 2024 and loans to major museum exhibitions.
Visiting Izumo Taisha and the Shinkoden
The treasure hall, called the Shinkoden, stands within the shrine grounds in Taisha-cho, Izumo City. The building itself rewards attention: completed in 1981 to a design by the architect Kikutake Kiyonori, it was renovated during the shrine's "Heisei Grand Relocation" program and now displays sacred treasures alongside archaeological finds, including remains of the colossal pillars of the medieval main hall excavated in 2000. A modest admission fee applies, and announcements of special displays of the original tebako appear on the shrine's official website.
Izumo Taisha enshrines Okuninushi no Okami, the deity of en-musubi, the binding of relationships and good fortune, and the main sanctuary is itself a National Treasure of architecture. Allow time to walk the full approach through the pine avenue and around the fence enclosing the towering main hall.
A few minutes' walk east of the shrine, the Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo displays the region's astonishing bronze finds, including hundreds of Yayoi-period swords and bells that are themselves National Treasures. The nearest station is Izumo Taisha-mae on the Ichibata Electric Railway, about ten minutes on foot from the shrine; buses also run from JR Izumoshi Station in roughly twenty-five minutes. Inasa Beach, the mythical landing place of the gods who assemble at Izumo each tenth lunar month, lies a fifteen-minute walk west.
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Q&A
- Can I see the actual National Treasure box at Izumo Taisha?
- Only occasionally. A replica is on regular display in the Shinkoden treasure hall, and the original appears during special exhibitions announced by the shrine, such as the spring 2024 showing, or on loan to major museums.
- What exactly is maki-e?
- Maki-e means "sprinkled picture." Designs are drawn in wet lacquer and dusted with gold or silver powder. In the togidashi variant used on this box, the design is sealed under more lacquer and polished back until it sits flush with the surface.
- Why do deer and bush clover appear together?
- In classical Japanese poetry the stag calling among autumn hagi flowers symbolized longing, and the pairing became a beloved seasonal motif across many art forms. This box renders it as a naturalistic landscape rather than a stylized pattern.
- Who made the box, and how did it come to the shrine?
- No maker's name or dedication record survives. It is generally thought to have been offered to Izumo Taisha as a sacred treasure, and on style it is dated to the Kamakura period, with strong echoes of late Heian taste.
- How long does a visit to the Shinkoden take?
- Thirty to forty minutes is usually enough for the treasure hall itself. Combined with the shrine precincts and the Shimane Museum of Ancient Izumo next door, plan on half a day.
Basic Information
| Name | Akino Shika Maki-e Tebako (Hand Box with Autumn Field and Deer Design in Maki-e) |
|---|---|
| Designation | National Treasure (craft), designated March 29, 1952; Important Cultural Property since July 31, 1902 |
| Quantity | 1 box |
| Period | Kamakura period (1185 to 1333) |
| Dimensions | Width 29.7 cm, depth 22.7 cm, height 16.1 cm |
| Technique | Togidashi maki-e and raden (shell inlay) on nashiji ground; tin rim, gilt-bronze fittings, two inner trays |
| Owner | Izumo Taisha (Izumo Oyashiro), Taisha-cho, Izumo City, Shimane Prefecture |
| Viewing | Replica on display in the Shinkoden treasure hall; original shown only on special occasions |
| Access | About 10 minutes on foot from Izumo Taisha-mae Station (Ichibata Electric Railway); bus from JR Izumoshi Station approx. 25 minutes |
References
- 国指定文化財等データベース 秋野鹿蒔絵手箱（Agency for Cultural Affairs）
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/201/346
- 文化遺産オンライン 秋野鹿蒔絵手箱（Cultural Heritage Online）
- https://bunka.nii.ac.jp/db/heritages/detail/177972
- 出雲大社 神祜殿（Izumo Taisha official site）
- https://izumooyashiro.or.jp/precinct/keidai-index/shinkoden
- 出雲大社 国宝「秋野鹿蒔絵手箱」などの公開について
- https://izumooyashiro.or.jp/archives/news/10877
- WANDER 国宝 秋野鹿蒔絵手箱
- https://wanderkokuho.com/201-00346/
Last verified: 2026.06.11