A general term for objects like brushes, paper, ink *sumi 墨, and inkstone *suzuri 硯 that are associated with reading, calligraphy, and painting. In China, wenfang (Jp: bunbō 文房, writing room) originally referred to a room in the palace used for writing. During the 7th-8th century, the room came to be used as a study for the appreciation of paintings and calligraphy. Soon after, the studies of the literati were called bunbō and the implements that they employed for calligraphy and painting came to be referred to as bunbōgu with the brush, inkstone, paper, and ink specifically termed *bunbō shihō 文房四宝 (four treasures of the writing room). From the 17th century on, the category of bunbōgu came to include seals *inshō 印章, seal paste, brush cases, water droppers *suiteki 水滴, arm rests, and paper weights *bunchin 文鎮. Also included are antiques such as ceramics and metal utensils and strangely-shaped rocks to be placed in the garden or set on the desk. Ink and brushes were transmitted to Japan via Korea in the 6th century, and by the late 8th century ink was being made in Japan. But the accompanying bunbōgu accouterments of Chinese literati culture did not become popular until the 14th century, a period when Chinese learning was highly sought after and copied in Japan.