Sometime around the year 1600 the first Takatori kiln was constructed at the foot of Mt Takatori in Fukuoka. This tradition was based on styles created by Korean potters brought to the shores of Japan during its colonial expansionism of the late 16th century. A favorite of the Kuroda lords of the time, its production and use was closely guarded until later in the 19th century when the domain system was abolished, freeing it up to be more widely used...

The craftsman who fashioned this piece, the 9th Ohi Chozaimon (1901-1986), is the most widely recognized and most accomplished of the now 11 generations of Ohi potters. Born in Ishikawa Prefecture at the start of the 20th century, he took up the family craft and, at the age of 26, became the head potter. Raku tea bowls made by Ohi 9 are some of the finest you will encounter, comparing favorably to even tea bowls made by the main Raku lineage in Kyoto...

Here we see a Chinese style celadon floral bowl by one of the 5 Imperial Court Artists of Meiji. The potter, Sozan, spent his life perfecting techniques for celadon production first used in the Southern Song Dynasty as evidenced here with his powdery blue “kinuta” glaze...

A key figure in the Japanese folk craft movement of the 20th century, Fujita Kyohei is credited with helping to develop a thriving glass-working community within Japan. Best known for his “dream” or “Liuli” boxes—very colorful and skillfully crafted boxes that often incorporated gold and silver leaf into their designs. Here we see a piece that would likely have been crafted earlier in his career but that demonstrates his masterful technique even then...

The pottery style know as “nerikomi” or sometimes “neriage” in Japan is a technique where various colors and consistencies of clay are stacked together and then cut through to reveal a unique pattern. Here we see a beautiful execution of this approach by potter Wakasugi Naomi (b. 1974) who spent many years perfecting the technique...

An exquisite vessel in white with elegant stripes of soft color by hard to find Niwa Ryochi enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Senmon Tsubo. There is a palpable grace to the piece which seems to reflect the Japanese appreciation of silence and shadows. It is 27.5 cm (11 inches) diameter, 33 cm (13 inches) tall and in excellent condition...

Beautiful golden Kyo-yaki tea bowl by Murata Toshimitsu in perfect condition with the design of hand painted iris flowers. It was made 50 years ago and comes with originally signed and sealed wooden box.

Murata Toshimitsu 村田俊光 was born 1941. After graduating from Kyoto Ceramic Training School, he started training in ceramics under the guidance of his father Murata Toen and succeeded the family business...

An earing clings to the “mimi” on this fabulous ash glazed vessel by one of our favorite hidden treasures, Tamura Roppo, enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Koshu Iga Mimitsuki Hanaire. The traditional form is affixed with two “ears”, from one of which clings one tremulous drip of ash, seeming to slightly weigh down that side. Happenstance occurring at just the right place at just the right time during the firing process that it survived without falling or breaking off...

Lavender and pink tinge the thick glaze applied to this large open tsubo by Kimura Morinobu enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Nasu-yu Shitomon Tsubo (Tsubo with Eggplant Glaze). This is a coloration for which Morinobu is well known and is unique to him. I remember meeting him one day at his house in Northern Kyoto and talking about this unusual glaze. He said an entire field of Nasu (eggplant) garners just a handful of this precious ash...

Japanese bronze vase with nice form, used to decorate single flower arrangement in Japanese traditional tea ceremony.

Age: Japan, Showa Period, Early 20th Century
Size: Height 29 C.M. / Width 15 C.M. (size excluding stand)
Condition: Nice condition overall. Please refer to the enlargement photos for more details.
Shipment: Worldwide shipping from Bangkok, Thailand at actual cost. Please e-mail us for the shipping fee.

Japanese bronze sheep.

Age: Japan, Showa Period, 20th Century
Size: Height 10.4 C.M. / Width 8.5 C.M. / Length 11.2 C.M. (size excluding stand)
Condition: Nice condition overall. Please refer to the enlargement photos for more details.
Shipment: Worldwide shipping from Bangkok, Thailand at actual cost. Please e-mail us for the shipping fee.

A small four-fold iron tsuitate, damascened in gold and silver, showing a scene with a minogame turtle and two figures in a landscape. The reverse engraved with a crane among the "three friends of winter". Condition: fine, only minimal wear to gilding, base with little glue residue. Dimension opened: c. 15 x 27.3 cm.

An abstract sculpture made of fused, oblong and un-glazed porcelain tubes. The piece has been modified by willful hammering to provide it with the desired shape. Signed and dated: Takeuchi Kouzo 2009, a unique piece in the ‘Modern Remains’ series. Takeuchi Kouzo was born in 1977 in Hyogo Prefecture...

Young boy in cast bronze. The subject is treated with breathtaking realism, thoughtful expression, body movement, everything is perfect and announces one of the greatest artists of his time. Examination of the fishing rod confirms this. Indeed this rod is so thin that it could not be cast, it was made patiently with a file starting with the thin end. It is movingly realistic with the knots and twists of growth. It is extremely fragile because bronze is a brittle metal...

Antique Japanese mixed metal kabuto (samurai helmet) and iron mempo (samurai face guard) mounted on metal stands...

Antique Japanese idoguruma (well pulley) made of Oribe ware ceramic. Glazed with traditional Oribe brown floral motifs and green drips on a buff color ground. The pulley wheel is attached to it's original keyaki (elm) wood frame. Wonderful age and patina.

Age: Edo Period (early 1800's)

Dimensions: 11 3/4" wide diameter x 30 1/4" total length

Antique Japanese painting in 3 panels of a group of cranes. 8 adult cranes stand with two chicks. They are painted large scale and stand out dramatically against an all gold ground. Painted in mineral colors and gold leaf on paper and mounted in 3 frames. The signature & seal both show the painter's name as 松究 Shо̄kyū.

Age: Taisho Period (early 20th century)

Dimensions: 66 3/4" high x 109" long (total all three panels together. Size of each panel: left and right pa...

Antique Japanese fushima (sliding door panel). Painting with a crane and pine tree on a background of gold mist. Painted in mineral colors on a sugi (cryptomeria) wood panel and framed with black lacquered hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood.

Age: Meiji Period (1868-1912)

Dimensions: 68 1/4" high x 36 1/4" wide x 1 1/4" deep