Oribe is a visual style named after the late-16th-century tea master Furuta Oribe (1544-1615). Typically, black or green glazes are applied to the bodies of these works and light-colored windows are created using feldspar. These high-contrast areas then acts as a canvas upon which abstract, minimalistic, and often naturalistic themes are painted.

Typical of Mino pieces of the time, this Oribe chawan is made of coarse, unrefined clay...

A very unusual Arita barber’s bowl dating to the second quarter of the 18th century. The oval body is moulded and features butterflies and peonies on a ribbed ground. This form is very likely to have been based on Dutch Delft pottery or perhaps a silver example. The interior is decorated in a rather striking manner with a band of underglaze blue fishes amongst breaking waves. The reverse is decorated with prunus sprigs, and two holes to the foot-rim to allow suspension...

A pottery tradition that harkens from the Mino region of Japan, Shino-yaki dates from the Azuchi Momoyama period. It came into fashion when first commissioned by renowned Muromachi cha-jin (tea masters) Shino Soushin. This is thought to be the first type of pottery in Japan to feature drawn paintings on the ceramic surface.

This attractive e-Shino bowl (“e” meaning picture) bears an abstract motif on a background of white feldspar...

Antique Japanese small Kiri tansu from the Sakata region, with red lacquer top and sides and black lacquer front. Motifs of bamboo, pine, kiri leaves, and other floral imagery can be seen in the iron plates of each drawer. The bottom right corner houses an ornate lockbox with two small drawers inside. Meiji period (1868-1912)

Size: 33.25" L x 16" W x 21.5" H

This peach-shaped kogo (incense box) is made of fine kinuta celadon from one of the great masters of the Meiji era—Suwa Sozan. A classic design, the peach is said to represent long-life for mortals and immortality for the gods in asian folklore. According to legend, the moon goddess—a powerful alchemist—can make an elixir from peaches that grow in the garden of the western paradise with miraculous revitalizing properties...

Kawase Hasui
Kiso River, Inuyama
Date: 1931.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Bijutsusha. One of only eight Hasui designs by this publisher.
Artist's signature and seal lower left.
Reference: Hotei #176.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Lovely woodgrain in sky.
Condition: Right and bottom margins reinforced by conservator...

Japanese woodblock print by Okiie Hashimoto (1899-1993). # 2/60 in its series, titled "Quiet A (Nagasaki)", signed in pencil. Red cartouche in upper righthand corner.

Hashimoto was born off the coast of the Tottori Prefecture of Japan in 1899. He graduated from the College of Art in Tokyo in 1923 and continued his studies under Itaru Tanabe and Shod Hirata...

Tsuchiya Koitsu
Festival
Date: 1930s. First and only edition.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 10.0 x 7.25 inches.
Publisher: Takemura Hideo. Takemura seal at lower left. H. Takemura stamp on verso.
Koitsu's "Shinsei" seal at lower right.
Koitsu catalog no.: TK-TM-67.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Top back corners have some thinning.

Jokata Kaiseki (1882-1966)
Snow-capped Mt. Fuji.
Series: Twenty-five Views of Mt. Fuji in the Four Seasons
Date: 1929-31.
Size: Oban. Approximately 14.5 x 11.5 inches.
Signed and sealed by artist.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Very good with slight toning and faint line above the mountain.
- Features embossed snow and reddish mist.

Takahashi Shotei (Hiroaki)(1871-1945)
Title: Totsuka
Print size: Approximately 6.825 x 4.825 inches (17.4 x 11.8 cm). Dimensions without borders: 16.2 x 10.9 cm.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Shotei seal at upper right.
Date: Prior to the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923, in which the original blocks were destroyed...

Mother of pearl flowers rise among the large leaves of a paulownia tree on this small lacquer box and tray dating from the early 20th century enclosed in the original signed wooden box by Yoshida Rissai. The workmanship is flawless, with a fine sense of depth brought on by the mother of pearl lined with gold powder and set against a ground of golden mist on black. Inside is a rich, red tinged nashiji ground...

Antique Japanese small ko tansu (personal chest) made of kiri (paulownia) wood. Thick kiri wood frames five drawers: three large drawers on the top and two smaller drawers side by side on the bottom. Hardware is made of bronze and includes simple warabite shaped drawer pulls and side handles.

Age: Taisho Period (early 20th century)

Dimensions: 25 1/4" high x 23 3/4" wide x 13 3/4" deep

An antique Japanese Kotansu chest for personal storage use made entirely of Kirinoki (Paulownia). All bronze hardware with 6 drawers and a pair of sliding doors hiding a storage area with a split level shelf. Constructed using straight dovetail joinery with hardened wooden nails. Perfect as a side chest or desktop organizer.

Age: Late Meiji-Taisho Period (1910-1920)

Dimensions: 23 3/4" Wide by 19 3/8" High by 11 3/4" Deep

An antique Japanese Daruma wooden mold used for making paper mâché dolls. Retired from duty and lacquered to preserve its years of production and service. The worn lacquer is a testament to its display and use that extended beyond its useful life and paid tribute to the former artisans that supported the craft. The original removable base was made with a concave divot to allow ease of rotation of the mold when in use...