Yamada Heiando: Ninsei Ume Maki-e San-dan Ju
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A Celebration of Seasons in Three Tiers
Few objects embody the grace of Japanese dining culture as profoundly as the jubako—tiered food boxes used for festive gatherings. This three-tiered Ninsei Ume Maki-e San-dan Ju, created by Yamada Heiando, brings together the enduring symbolism of the ume blossom with the mastery of urushi lacquer and maki-e gold decoration.
Measuring 17 × 17 × 17 cm, the box appears compact and balanced, yet it holds within its layers a world of cultural significance. Each tier is coated with natural urushi lacquer, a rare material harvested in limited quantity from the sap of lacquer trees. Onto this polished surface, master artisans have rendered the ume—Japan’s plum blossom—through maki-e, a technique in which ultrafine gold powder is delicately sprinkled over wet lacquer. The result is a design that seems at once fragile and eternal, a spring that blooms anew each time the box is opened.
The jubako arrives in a kiribako (paulownia wood box), itself part of the tradition of care and preservation. Used historically to protect treasured objects from humidity and time, the kiribako signals that this piece is not just functional—it is a keeper of legacy.
Yamada Heiando: Ninsei Ume Maki-e San-dan Ju
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symbolism of the ume blossom
In Japanese culture, the ume holds profound meaning. Unlike the famous cherry blossom, which arrives at the height of spring, the plum is the earliest bloom, often blossoming while snow still lingers. For centuries it has represented endurance, resilience, and hope in hardship. Poets of the classical Manyōshū collection praised its fragrance and delicate beauty, while samurai admired it as a metaphor for strength concealed within elegance.
On the surface of this jubako, the ume blossoms seem suspended in gold, their radiance set against the dark depth of lacquer. When used during New Year’s feasts—a common tradition for jubako—they become emblems of renewal, marking not only the beginning of a season but the promise of prosperity in the year to come.
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Eternal Spring in Lacquer and Gold
The making of a jubako at Yamada Heiando is a discipline of both patience and devotion. The wooden form is carefully shaped, then receives layer after layer of urushi lacquer. Each coat is applied by hand, left to cure in controlled humidity, then polished to prepare for the next. This process may take weeks before the surface achieves its signature, glass-like brilliance.
Only then does the maki-e artisan begin. Working with brushes fine enough to resemble calligraphy tools, the artist sprinkles powdered gold onto wet lacquer, building motifs that shimmer with subtlety and depth. Once complete, the piece is polished again to set the design into permanence.
The result is a vessel that is as much a painting in three dimensions as it is tableware. With use, the lacquer continues to mature, its depth and glow evolving with the years—an object that becomes more beautiful not despite time, but because of it.
cultural role of the jubako
The jubako’s history is deeply intertwined with celebration. During Osechi-ryōri, the traditional Japanese New Year’s meal, families arrange symbolic dishes within the box’s layers—foods chosen to invite prosperity, longevity, and happiness. Each tier might hold black beans for health, herring roe for fertility, or sweet rolled omelets for joy. Stacked together, the tiers signify abundance upon abundance, a wish that blessings might accumulate just as food fills the box.
Beyond New Year’s, jubako are also used for weddings, cherry-blossom viewings, and other festive gatherings. Their presence at the table signals not only hospitality but reverence for tradition. To serve from a jubako is to participate in a cultural lineage that values presentation as highly as flavor, and symbolism as deeply as sustenance.
company overview
Yamada Heiando: Imperial Purveyor of Lacquerware
Founded in 1919 by Konosuke Yamada, the Tokyo atelier soon became a celebrated name in lacquerware, honored with the distinction of serving the Imperial Household of Japan. This Royal Warrant—an honor granted only to brands personally chosen by the Emperor—remains one of Heiando’s proudest achievements.
For over a century, Yamada Heiando has created lacquerware that balances artistic refinement with functional elegance. Its pieces are treasured by foreign embassies, renowned shrines, temples, and collectors across the globe. Today, under CEO Kenta Yamada, the house continues to preserve its founder’s ideals: that lacquerware should not only be admired in cabinets but used, held, and cherished as part of daily rituals.
availability
The Ninsei Ume Maki-e San-dan Ju is produced in limited numbers, reflecting the time-intensive nature of urushi work and the rarity of materials. Each jubako is a collaboration between artisans and nature: the slow gift of lacquer trees, the precision of human hands, and the symbolic resilience of the ume blossom.
To acquire such a piece is to take part in a tradition that has endured for centuries, a celebration of craft and culture in equal measure. Whether displayed as an object of beauty or used in the rituals of dining, it serves as a reminder that refinement is not distant history—it can live at the center of the table, in the warmth of shared meals.
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