Kōbako

A {{nihongo|kōbako|香箱}} is an incense storage box used in kōdō ({{lang|ja|香道}}, "Way of Incense"), the traditional Japanese art which involves using and appreciating incense within a structure of codified conduct. It can be used to store the items needed for the incense-comparing games.{{Cite book

| last = Dick

| first = Stewart

| title = Arts and crafts of old Japan

| publisher = A.C. McClurg & Co.

| year = 1905

| pages = 131

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qZEVAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22Kobako%22&pg=PA131

}} called kumikō ({{lang|ja|組香}}) and genjikō ({{lang|ja|源氏香}}). The similar word kobako ({{lang|ja|小箱}}; note the short o rather than long ō in the first syllable) means "small box" in Japanese.

The kōbako is somewhat similar to a kōgō, an incense box used in the Japanese tea ceremony. However, "the kōbako was usually a little larger than the kōgō, and sometimes had a small tray or small boxes to go with it."{{Cite journal

| last = Bincsik

| first = Monika

| title = Kōgō and Kōbako as "Objets de Vitrine" in Europe during the Second Half of the 19th Century

| journal = Arts of Asia

| volume = 36

| location = Hong Kong

| year = 2006

}}

Often decorated with lacquer and showing a high degree of craftmanship, kōbako are studied and collected by those who appreciate Japanese arts and crafts.{{Cite book

| last = Bushell

| first = Raymond

| title = The inrō handbook: studies of netsuke, inrō, and lacquer

| publisher = Weatherhill

| year = 1979

| isbn = 9780834801356

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JyXrAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kobako%22

}}{{Cite book

| last = Stern

| first = Harold P.

| title = The magnificent three: lacquer, netsuke, and tsuba: selections from the Collection of Charles A. Greenfield

| publisher = Japan Society

| year = 1972

| location = New York, New York

| isbn = 9780913304006

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=RFvsAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kobako%22

}}{{Cite book

| last = Okada

| first = Barbra Teri

| title = A sprinkling of gold: the lacquer box collection of Elaine Ehrenkranz

| publisher = Newark Museum

| year = 1983

| location = Newark, New Jersey

| pages = 134

| isbn = 9780932828101

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=7VfrAAAAMAAJ&q=%22Kobako%22

}}{{Cite news

| last = Tachau

| first = Hannah

| title = The Collector's Scrap Book: Old Lacquer

| newspaper = House Beautiful

| location = New York, New York

| pages = 94

| date = June 1914

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hrAYAAAAYAAJ&dq=kobako+perfume&pg=PA94

| access-date = June 15, 2011}}

Related meanings

The rugged Sōunkyō Gorge in Japan's Daisetsuzan National Park has an area of "fantastic crags".{{Cite web

| title = Soun-kyo Gorge

| publisher = Japan National Tourism Organization

| url = http://www.jnto.go.jp/eng/location/regional/hokkaido/souunnkyou.html

}} "The narrowest section of the gorge is called Kobako, or "Small Box", because of the enclosed feeling imparted by the towering rock pillars shooting up from the riverbanks."{{Cite book

| last = Dodd

| first = Jan

|author2=Richmond, Simon

| title = The rough guide to Japan

| publisher = Rough Guides

| year = 2001

| location = London

| pages = 353

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=CNAT-7MCN2AC&dq=%22Kobako%22+small+box&pg=PA353

| isbn = 978-1-85828-699-0

}}

In 1936, Bourjois introduced a perfume called Kobako, which was packaged in a container "inspired by an old lacquered cabinet".{{Cite news

| title = Crystal

| newspaper = Arts & Decoration, Volume 45

| publisher = Adam Bunge

| year = 1937

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=JkQ_AAAAYAAJ&q=kobako+perfume

}} The perfume, described as a "Chypre Floral fragrance", is still on the market.{{Cite encyclopedia

| title = Kobako Bourjois for women

| encyclopedia = Fragrantica Perfume Encyclopedia

| publisher = Fragrantica

| date = 2006–2011

| url = http://www.fragrantica.com/perfume/Bourjois/Kobako-7971.html

| access-date = June 15, 2011}}

According to Kunihiko Kasahara, there is a traditional origami pattern called a Tsuno Kobako, which is identified as a "folded pouch for perfume". This paper folding pattern goes back at least to 1734, when it appeared in a book called Ranma Zushiki.{{Cite book

| last = Kasahara

| first = Kunihiko

| author-link = Kunihiko Kasahara

| title = The Art and Wonder of Origami

| publisher = Quarry Books

| year = 2005

| location = Bloomington, Indiana

| pages = 50–56

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=a6nwYgZY5CwC&dq=Kobako+origami&pg=PA50

| isbn = 978-1-59253-213-1

}}

Kōbako is a slang term for "vagina" in Japanese. It is among several such slang terms for the vagina that "have flourished since the Edo period, and have been sharpened by centuries of persistent use".{{Cite book

| last = Constantine

| first = Peter

| title = Japanese Slang: Uncensored

| publisher = Tuttle Publishing

| year = 1994

| location = Clarendon, Vermont

| pages = 94

| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=x6CXShcyrDAC&dq=%22Kobako%22+small+box&pg=PA94

| isbn = 978-4-900737-03-7

}}

References

External links

[https://www.godwinsremovals.co.uk/storage/best-plastic-garden-storage-boxes Strong Garden Storage Box By Godwins]

Category:Furniture

Category:Containers