This rectangular tobacco tray has a handle in the form of a Shinto torii. Composed entirely of straight lines, the tray is simple and streamlined -- a truly elegant piece. In the lower section is a small drawer with a gold pull, set in a chestnut-shaped knob made of paulownia wood. Covering all four sides is a design of grapevines swaying in the wind fashioned in hira (flat) maki-e and e-nashiji (pictorial pear-skin ground). Inside are a cylindrical container for ashes and a vessel to hold the tobacco; attached to the brackets on the front of the handle are small hooks on which the pipe rests. Pipe smoking was introduced through trade with the westerners and became quite popular in Japan. It served as the stimulus for the production of a variety of beautifully made utensils, whose designs differ depending on how the object was used.