Silver / Giichi Tanaka collection

“Bomboniere”, meaning “small candy box” in French, is a piece of metal craft offered to guests on such special occasions as weddings and religious ceremonies. In Japan, the Imperial Family introduced this European tradition, and started using bombonieres bearing the Imperial chrysanthemum crest. In the international society of the 1880s, silver had the same value as paper money, and silverware was frequently used for royal diplomacy in the West. Bombonieres were mainly offered by the Imperial Family on the occasion of a birth ceremony, the fifth birthday of a child, the coming-of-age ceremony, the investiture of the Crown Prince, a wedding, as well as for commemorating a visit abroad or for celebrating longevity. They were also distributed upon luncheons with foreign royals or ambassadors. Among the seven exhibited items, the three offered to celebrate the wedding of the Meiji Emperor’s daughter bear a mention by Rintaro Tanaka specifying on which occasion they were given. As for the three items respectively offered on the occasion of the State ceremony for the Taisho Emperor, the investiture and the coming-of-age ceremony of the Showa Emperor, the letters of invitation to each banquet sent to Fuji Tanaka by Yoshinao Hatano, the Minister of the Imperial Houseshold, remain.