Beautifully encapsulating the Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi, this cast iron tea kettle has an elegance that far outshines more ornate versions of this ceremonial implement. Likely from Meiji, the craftsmanship is excellent, the overall proportions ideal, and the texture of the metal very pleasing...

An antique Japanese Negoro Choba Tansu (merchant chest) made of Hinoki (Cypress) and Suginoki (Cryptomeria) woods. Original hand forged iron hardware and Negoro Urushi lacquer finish. Complete with 8 drawers and 2 sets of sliding doors. The upper doors has a spacious storage area where the merchant stored his business records and books. The lower doors has books and records storage to the left and four small storage drawers to the right...

A large deep bowl decorated in abstract underglaze blue imagery by Shibata Ryozo enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Sometsuke Hachi and dating circa 1995. It is 35 cm (14 inches) diameter, 25.5 cm (10 inches) deep and in excellent condition.
Shibata Ryozo (b. 1952) completed advanced studies at the Kyoto Municipal University of Arts in 1978 (his work was purchased by the university the previous year for its permanent collection)...

A light raku chawan displaying a mitsuba-aoi family crest pressed into the side which has been shattered and repaired with black lacquer mellowed slightly brown, then broken again and repaired with gold. An amazing amount of work to save the fragments. The bowl is 12.5 cm (5 inches) diameter6.5 cm (2-1/2 inches) tall and comes enclosed in an old Kiri-wood collectors’ box...

An elegant celadon receptacle with custom made black lacquered lid by important female potter Suwa Sozan II titled Seiji Mizusashi and enclosed in a wooden box annotated by the third generation head of the family. The Taru shape (a traditional bound shallow wood bucket) is surmounted at the rim with lily pads upon which rests a tiny frog. In the center of the base is her circular stamp. It is 24 cm (9-1/2 inches) diameter, 12 cm (5 inches) tall and in excellent condition...

Jumping Koi/Carp. Paited with ink on silk. Signed Eishuku Ujinobu and sealed. It is attributed to Kano Eishuku(Ujinobu).

There is a waterfall legend about “The Dragon Gate": thousands of koi fishes tried to jump to the waterfall for hundreds of years but failed, and after sometime passed one koi determined to reach the top of the waterfall and finally made it to the top. The Gods rewarded the koi by turning him into a beautiful, shiny, Golden Dragon...

This is his Tsutsugaki item, which is impressive with its very surreal pine and bamboo designs drawn in Tsutsugaki during the Edo period. The young pine tree in the center of the picture is drawn in an unbelievably large and surreal manner, and the bamboo, which is also impossibly deformed, is drawn in the background. This is quite an unconventional item among the indigo-dyed items of the Edo period...

Crusty black covers this vase by Kumano Kurouemon (also written Kuroemon) enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Echizen Tetsuguro Hanaire. It is 30 cm (12 inches) tall, 15.5 cm (6 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
A ceramic madman, oil painter and recluse, Kuroemon is as eccentric as his pottery predicts...

Bonji Sanskrit characters pierce the lotus finialed lid of this large antique bronze incense burner. The vajra-like finial topped in the shape of a lotus flower is hollow, the lotus seed pod pierced with holes to allow the smoke to escape like a chimney. This is also removable, slotting in to the incense burner, and turned to lock it in place. Inside the lid is stained and shiny from years of incense soot built up...

A fabulous example exploring the various traits of traditional Shigaraki pottery with a thick swath of glaze covering one side, telltale feldspathic inclusions bursting from the raw clay opposite. This is a classic example of 16th century Shigaraki pottery. It is 29 x 31 x 35 cm (11-1/2 x 12 x 14 inches) and in overall excellent condition...

The sage gazes out from his hermitage clinging to the hillside upon a sparse scene of falling water and precipitous climbing peaks dominating this painting by Shirakura Niho dating from the prime of his career. Ink and light color on silk mounted in blue cloth with thin piping terminating in white ceramic rollers. It is 40.5 x 187.5 (16 x 74 inches) and is in excellent condition; enclosed in a modern wooden storage box...

A quintessential image of a tiny bean-shaped figure lost in thought, perhaps staring out to sea on a sunny hillock before cascading water in lush Spring-green washes by Shirakura Niho enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Enpokihan (Distant Sails Returning). Ink & Light color on Silk in fresh green extended with beige featuring bone rollers. It is 64 x 143.5 cm (25 x 56-1/2 inches) and is in overall excellent condition.
Shirakura Kinichiro (Kinro, Niho or Jiho, Kanyu, 1896-1...

This scroll is an excellent example of the early Showa era style of Shirakura Niho centering around 1930 enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Teishu Sotai. The painting features two persons in a boat contemplating a precipitous waterfall which extends up through the clouds. The phrase Teishu Sotai in old Japanese translates to "meeting of moored boats" in English. It is often used metaphorically to describe a chance encounter or a meeting between two people who happen to be in the...

A peaceful cluster of homes blanketed in snow by Shirakura Niho enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Kamo Sekkei (Kamo in Snow). This is likely an image from very close to the artists heart, he lived west of the Kamo River in Kyoto, and one can imagine this being one of the bridges spanning that river he has seen out on a winter day. Ink,Gofun & Light color on Silk bordered in light colored cloth. The scroll is 46.5 x 203.5 cm (18-1/4 x 80 inches) and is in overall excellent cond...

A lonely figure walks home through the forested hills, a rustic scene by Shirakura Kanyu (Niho) from his mature period distinctly blending his early years of training in watercolor under Ishii Hakutei with his later Nanga years. Ink and light color on silk in a superb silk border with solid ivory rollers (these will be changed if exporting). It comes in the original signed double wood box titled Kisho (returning home) and is in excellent condition. This scroll is signed Kanyu, placing it in or...

First edition Japanese shin hanga woodblock print titled "Rainy Season at Ryoshimachi, Shinagawa" from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido" by Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) dated in the lower right margin February Showa 6 (1931). The artist's black ink signature and red seal are at the lower right corner with the Watanabe "C" seal (used 1929-1942) in the left margin beside it. Paper size: 15 1/4" x 10 1/8" (image size: 14 1/8" x 9 3/8"). The print does not appear to have been previously fra...

Polished layered-lacquer lozenges are inlayed into the surface of this fabulous Art-Deco era vase by important Japanese Bronze artist Yamamoto Junmin. The lacquered pieces have been cut and polished from variously colored layered lacquer. The vase is signed on the base Junmin, and measures 27.5 cm (11 inches) diameter, 18.5 cm (7-1/4 inches) tall. It is in excellent condition.
Yamamoto Junmin (1882 – 1962) learned the metal arts under Katori Hotsuma (Hozuma) and Asakura Fumio at the To...

Woodblock print by the French/Japanese artist, Paul Jacoulet entitled "Le Miroir de Laque Rouge, Tokyo". A beautiful woman sits at her mirror, her make up sits in front of her on her vanity, she has her back turned towards the viewer, kimono and obi are beautifully decorated, mica used on the mirror, silver ink details, signature in pencil in lower left corner, title and publisher seal in lower right corner, 1938. Size of paper: 18 1/2" high x 14" wide/ Size of image: 15 1/2" high ...