Fabulous almost art deco old Japanese medicine shop kanban or shop sign. Meiji Period C.1900.This sign was made for the Tayama Yakuho Medicine shop in Awakuni the Meiji Period name for present day Awajishima island near Shikoku. The Medicine, Keishintan, was for the stomach. We can translate all the writing on the sign by request. H:16" x W:34" Ask for shipping quote.

Charming rustic Japanese antique jizai hook for heating water over a fire, made of keyaki (elm) wood and carved in the shape of a fish, beautiful wood grain with a deep patina from years of use, an iron hook is attached to the tail, a rope or chain would have threaded through a vertical hole from head to mouth, Edo Period (early to mid 19th century). Total size: 15" long x 6 1/2" high (fish is 4" high)

Antique and unique Japanese Mingei Sake Bottle (Tokkuri), also usable as a flower vase. It is approx. 100 years old and made of old Shino-Ware.

You will find two amazing images on it, made with iron-oxid. Enjoy sake or beautiful flowers with this antique Mingei Folk Art item.

Mingei (民芸 lit. folk arts or arts of the people), the Japanese folk art movement, was developed in the late 1920s and 1930s in Japan...

Wooden five storied pagoda done in the style just as the actual structures appear including the wooden joints and key architectural elements that are conjoined together to create the structure. Fine worksmanship is done with the balustrades, roof, and the are under the roof known as the mune in Japanese. Age: 20th century Size: height 84" width 16" length 16.25"

A large Japanese gourd flower container with a section of the gourd cut out to place a small container to decorate flowers inside. A rattan handle is attached on the top of the gourd. Hisago is a type of gourd often used for various purposes in Japanese culture. The gourd embodies the Japanese aesthetic of wabi sabi. Age: 20th century. Size: height 18" diameter 17.5"

Japanese antique Jizai or "J" hook, made for hanging a large kettle by rope from rafters over fire pit, made of keyaki (elm) wood, wonderfully rough hewn and sculptural, carved with eight sides, great patina from smoke and use, Meiji Period (1868-1912). Size: 30 1/4" high x 15" wide x 4" think (10" wide including small cross beam at top).

Incredible highly detailed hand carved Japanese temple ranma (transom carving). Carved of a solid thick slab of hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood. Depicting a pair of beautiful musical apsaras (celestial beings), floating in a elaborate swirling clouds. Each figure is adorned with a head dress and whimsical flowing dress. The celestial beings are shown holding a drum and the other a flute. The transom is carved in high relief with great detail...

An exquisite pair of gofun covered fox on black and gold lacquered stands protected by copper wire cages, dating from the second half of the Edo period. They wear a shrewd look, eyes narrowed to slits, enhancing their mischievous image. The mystical carvings are covered in white gofun, stained a soft gray from age with highlights still white from eons of careful cleaning...

A giant mingei carved mask of an oni (demon) embodying the indefinable sense of madness particular to Japanese Demon images. The face has a mysterious mixture of sadness and evil not duplicated in any other culture, a truly pitiable character. The mask, carved from a single block of wood, is just over 2 feet (66 cm) tall and in fine condition.

Image of a heron in water in rice-paste-resist dying technique (tsutsugaki) on cotton. The color showing are coffee brown for the background and different shades of brown with white for the heron. The image mounted as a hanging scroll, which has been cut to fit into a frame. Meiji period, late 19th century. Mingei.
Cotton image: 11 ¾ x 8 ¾ in. Frame: 36 ¼ x 13 in.
Excellent condition.

A quaint hand-carved image of Minogame (a sea turtle) supports this antique bamboo pipe tap dating from the second half of the 19th century, the rich dark wood highly polished from a century of fond handling glows like satin. The turtle is a symbol of longevity in Japan, and often is depicted in celebratory situations. Here the creature has been chiseled out of a solid chunk of wood, head raised over the top of its shell...

Old Japanese theater mask of "tengu" in a fierce grimace sporting a prominent proboscis. The "tengu" were mythical creatures, half-bird and half-man, who were tricksters living in pine trees in the forests. I am uncertain of the dating of this mask but estimate it was crafted in the early to mid-20th century. It may be older. It has signs of age and use. There are scattered chips on the underside of the chin and nose and at the edge of the mask and eyes...