The lid of this splendid mulberry case for an inkstone creates in inlaid silver a waka poem as if it has been written on the kind of decorated paper used for poetry. The calligraphy is by Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558–1637), and the poem by Daisōjō Kakuchū (1118–1177) reads: “In the month where all the gods have left for Izumo/ the leaves too have left the branches of their trees/ retreating to the garden floor/ their absence is replaced by the howling wind.” It appears in the Shinkokin wakashū (New Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems, ca. 1205). Kiuchi Hanko, the master wood maker who created this box, has expertly drawn out the resplendence of the wood grain.
 
NAITO SakaeEnglish by Mary Lewine 
Buddhist Art Paradise: Jewels of the Nara National Museum. Nara National Museum, 2021.7, p.330, no.230.