Raised designs in slip decorate the yellow glaze of this deep bowl by Kawai Kanjiro enclosed in a kiriwood box titled O-yu Tsutsugaki-mon Wan annotated by Kawai Toshitaka, current head of the Kawai Kanjiro Museum. This piece dates from later in the artists illustrious career, 1950s-1960s. It is 4 inches (10 cm) diameter, 3-1/4 inches (5 cm) tall and in excellent condition...

Antique Japanese 2-section mizuya tansu (chest on chest for kitchen storage) from the Kyoto area. Made with hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood frame and sugi (cryptomeria) wood interior. The top section has two compartments; the upper most with four sliding panels of beautiful burl wood; below this is a compartment for food storage with sliders made of pierced carved hinoki wood and wire mesh for ventilation...

Charming Japanese Seated Bronze Maiden on original well-carved wooden base. Young maiden is dressed in peasant clothing and is holding a teacup.

Size: Overall 16" H x 13"W x 17"L Actual 14.5:H bronze figure

Age: Meiji Period (1868-1912)

Antique Japanese 2-section biraki isho tansu (clothing chest with opening doors) made especially for storing kimono. The top section has hinged doors which open to reveal a set of 7 kimono trays which can be slid all the way out like shallow drawers. The bottom section has three large drawers...

A rare pair Japanese plates showing a dragon among textile-weave patterns worked in dull colored enamels, the brass or copper rims and wires showing partially remnants of gilding. The reverse decorated with further floral motifs, the base with green contre-émail. The enamel showing concavities and pits. Condition: fine, only wear to gilding. Dimension: diameter: 24.9 cm, 4.2 cm high, weight: 1400 g.

Arai Yoshimune
Snow in Wakanoura Bay
Date 1930s.
Size: Chuban. 10.25 x 7.75 inches.
Sealed by the artist at lower left.
Publisher: Nishinomiya Yosaku. Seal at right margin and back
"Made in Japan" stamped on verso.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Very faint foxing in sky. Back top corners have mounting residue.

Lovely maiden of bronze holding basket of sea life including octopus and walking with sandals, signed with rectangular cartouche reading 誠谷作, Seiya saku. That would point to Genryūsai Seiya (源龍斎誠谷). Realistic Tokyo School bronze dating from the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With natural burl wood base.

Size: 19"H x 8" D, stand 3.5"H x 21" D

Keyaki (zelkova) wooden pulley, used to scoop water out of a well. Wooden wheel with forged iron block. The inside of the wheel groove (where the rope would run through), lined with a thin sheet of copper...

A minor divergence into one of the other plastic arts, here a silver flecked image of a carp made as a hanging vase by the iconic Kuroki Kuniaki accompanied by a signed wooden placard. It is 28 x 19 x 14 cm (11 x 7-1/2 x 5-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Kuroki Kuniaki was born in Miyazaki prefecture in 1945. He began his career employed straight out of school by the Yamaya Glass Company in 1963...

An evocative image of a bear hunkered down and looking a bit befuddled, perhaps awaking from winter slumber, in un-glazed white porcelain from the Tatsuno kilns of Banko in Mie Prefecture. It is sealed on the base with two stamps, one reading Banko, the other Tatsuno. The image is 23 x 20 x 16.5 cm (9 x 8 x 6-1/2 inches) and in excellent condition, enclosed in a period collectors kiri-wood box. Imagery of animals such as this were very popular in the Taisho (1911-1925) to early Showa era...

Antique Japanese Ko Tansu (personal storage chest). Made entirely of Kiri (Paulownia) wood. This small tansu has 5 drawers; three in a vertical row over two smaller drawers side by side. The hardware was hand made all of iron and includes round lock plates on each drawer and Kakute handles. The drawers are additionally reinforced by corner foliate decorative hardware.

Age: Late Edo Period (circa early 1800's)

Dimensions: 22 1/2" high x 22 3/4" wide x 12 1/4" deep

Antique Japanese Chobako (merchant's box) with five drawers; two small drawers side by side on the top over three drawers in a vertical row. This box is made all of Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) wood with the exception of the drawer interiors which are made of Kiri (Paulownia) wood.

The drawers graduate in size with the smallest on the upper portion of the box and the largest on the bottom...

An antique Japanese large Kyoto Mizuya Tansu (kitchen chest) in 2 sections that was made of Hinoki (Cypress), Kakinoki (Persimmon) and Suginoki (Cryptomeria) woods. The center drawers have a very unique design made by the decorative Persimmon accents making each one look like a gift box. All sliding doors have Persimmon runners used to smooth out the slide and help prevent wear at the bottom.

Japanese joinery is evident throughout the piece making use of the mortise and tenon technique...

A Tamasudare-ami Hanakago Basket by Yamamoto Chikuryusai I of round bamboo strands enclosed in the original signed wooden box lacquered in translucent red. The basket exudes a deep respect for the tradition, every knot perfect, the proportions exquisite. It is 19 cm (7-1/2 inches) diameter, 37 cm (14-1/2 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Yamamoto Chikuryusai I (1868-1945) was a bamboo artist of the early modern era in Osaka...

Antique Japanese single-section small Mizuya Tansu (kitchen chest). Made with Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) wood frame and Sugi (Cryptomeria) wood sides and interior. Sliding panels covering the top and bottom compartments are made with Keyaki (Zelkova) wood. A compartment in the upper portion of the tansu has sliders with stripy Kaki (Persimmon) wood and glass that showcases a stepped interior shelf for display. Just beside this, on the right, is a drop-in panel with matching Persimmon wood...

Antique Choba Tansu (merchant's chest) from the Tohoku area of Northern Japan. Made with Kiri (Paulownia) wood front and Sugi (Cryptomeria) wood frame and interior. There are six exterior drawers, a compartment with sliding panels, and a safe box all with dramatic round lock plates. Iron hardware also includes Warabite shaped drawer pulls, quarter round corner bracing and half round lock plate and hinge on the safe box...

Antique Japanese small, single section Mizuya (kitchen tansu). Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) wood frame with Sugi (Cryptomeria) wood sides and interior. Sliding panels and drawer fronts are made of Keyaki (Zelkova) wood with lovely, dramatic grain. A drop-in panel and hand-pulls on the sliders are made of Bamboo, showcasing fine details. Four compartments are covered with sliding panels; the top and bottom compartments have solid Keyaki wood panels, the upper middle compartment sliders have...

A very rare Japanese Ballot Box of hinoki wood bound in decorative iron dating from the later 19th to early 20th century. This year the ballot is on everyone’s mind, and this is an exceptional example of both traditional Japanese decoration and cabinetry. It has locks on both sides of the lid, which can be removed to reveal an inner lid with hinged iron cover over a slot for dropping in the ballots. This inner lid as well is locked. Keys included, it is 35.5 x 21 x 27 cm (14 x 8 x 10-1/2 in...