Antique Japanese Lacquered Sweetmeat Chinoiserie Container in the Figure Eight.  Beautiful cinnabar lacquer is decorated with elements of gold and blue.

Wikipedia defines that the " 

Eight (八, hachi, ya) is also considered a lucky number in Japan, but the reason is different from that in Chinese culture. Eight gives an idea of growing prosperous, because the letter (八) broadens gradually. The Japanese thought of eight (や, ya) as a holy number in the ancient times."

  These boxes usually contained "sweetmeats" or candy.  Anything that contained a large amount of sugar.  

This special box measures approximately 10.5" x 18" x 3" high.