Set in black lacquer, the lid of the rectangular writing box presents a variety of shells in overglaze enameled pottery, lead, tin, and mother-of-pearl while the seaweed is maki-e. A leisurely current is conjured up in the way the seaweed flows in different directions. The stationery box is executed in the same technique as the writing box with shells and seaweed set in black lacquer on the lid. Ogawa Haritsu was a poet and lacquer artist in the Edo period. His unique style of setting different metals, ivory, glass, and ceramic shards in maki-e is known as Ritsuō-zaiku.