Antique Japanese hikeshi banten, fireman's coat. Made of layers of cotton fabric and stitched over every inch using sashiko quilting technique. Fires were common in Japanese urban areas due to the dense population as well as construction material (primarily wood and paper). Fire brigades were made up of samurai class (buke hikeshi) as well as common class (machi hikeshi) and their primary goal in containing a fire was to knock out the surrounding buildings so the fire had no more fuel...

Antique Japanese zushi shrine for travelers. Doors open to reveal Aizen-Myōō, one of the Wisdom Kings. Venerated in Japanese Esoteric and Vajrayana Buddhism, Aizen-Myōō is known for transforming worldly lust into spiritual awakening. In his six hands he hold attributes including a bell which calls awareness and a vajra which represents the diamond that cuts through illusion...

An antique Japanese Ikebana basket made with split and large slatted bamboo and Wisteria branches for the handle and mouth. Its design is a flattened Ovid form that is almost purse-like in shape. The top of the basket is woven along the Wisteria mouth in a free-form style that undulated along the wavy movement of the mouth. The base is a raised twisted rope foot...

An antique Japanese Choba Tansu (merchant chest) made of Momiji (Maple), Sakura (Cherry) and Hinoki (Cypress) woods. Made with hand forged iron hardware including the Warabite handles. With 8 exterior drawers, 2 sliding doors behind which is a storage space with a removable shelf and a hinged door that hides 4 small drawers. constructed using straight dovetail Japanese joinery with hardened wooden nails. Pair of side handles to each side for ease of placement in a room...

Edo Period (1603-1868) Kiyomizu Ware Bowl with Gold Repair Kintsugi

Kyo/Kiyomizu Ware has several centuries of history with over 300 kilns located around Kyoto, Japan.
The history of Kiyomizu pottery goes back to the Momoyama period (1568-1600).

Size
2in. (5.2cm.) high;
4.8in. (12.3cm.) diameter;
7.05oz...

Kawase Hasui
Moon Over Kiyosumi Garden
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1938.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe 6 mm round seal lower right corner, indicating a lifetime edition printed between 1946-1957.
Reference: Hotei #424.
Condition: Excellent.

An antique Japanese Isho Tansu (Kimono chest) in three sections made entirely of Kirinoki (Paulownia) wood. All bronze hardware including the Warabite handles. Constructed using straight dovetail Japanese joinery and hardened wooden nails. Two sliding doors to the top section behind which are three small drawers to the right and a split level shelf to the left...

An Arita porcelain whistle in the form of a reclining Chinese boy. Decorated in Kakiemon-type underglaze blue, green and iron-red enamels. Circa 1680 ~ 1700.

A similar whistle is illustrated in Christiaan J. A. Jorg’s ‘Fine & Curious, Japanese Export Porcelain in Dutch Collections.’

Approximately 7.4 cm long...

A rare Japanese Sometsuke Mukozuke dish, the design of a partially folded fan taken directly from Chinese porcelain made especially for export to Japan during the late Ming Dynasty, Tianqi Period, 1621-1627.

Modeled in the form of a partially unfolded fan and decorated with a figure on a riverbank, the river and a solitary boat before him. The naturalistically modeled back is plain and has three thickly potted circular feet...

The figures are expertly carved and depict members of the Buddhist pantheon, unidentified by the writer. The material used has a marine origin and is most likely walrus tusk. They are darkened from age and have achieved a pleasing colour. The lotus stands are separately constructed and as they have been produced from a cross-section of the tusk they exhibit the dentine found within...

A vintage Japanese 2 section special Kamo Tansu kimono chest made entirely of Kirinoki (Paulownia) and Kuwanoki (Mulberry) wood. The Kiri wood comes from the Aizu region of Japan which is well known for its high quality of Kiri lumber while the handle and trim accents were made of hand carved Kuwa. The wood is very thick and dense while the parts fit so perfectly that the interior of the tansu is nearly air tight keeping the valuable silk kimonos dry...

Very rare XII Eiraku Wazen (1823–1896) Kiseto Sake Cup (Sakazuki) with original box. The seal of the potter is stamped on the bottom.

XII Eiraku Wazen (1823–1896) belongs to one of the most influential pottery family in Kyoto in 19 century.
He became the head of the family in 1843 at the age of 20 with the name Wazen after retirement of his father Hozen.
His works are held in Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Size
Diameter 10.1cm
Height 3....

An antique Japaese tray in the form of a banana leaf in green natural Urushi lacquer with its original Tomobako. Beautiful artist rendition of a folded top to the leaf that has an edge which naturally cuts up. Fully carved and lacquered both top and bottom. Age: Meiji/Taisho (1900-1920)

Dimensions: 23 1/2" Long by 10 1/2" Wide

Kobako in dark brown lacquer. In imitation of bamboo, the inner part is made of bamboo and the outer part of the box is made of kaki wood. It represents the cross section of a bamboo cane node with its light brown diaphragm slightly bulging in the center of the lid and stand. External layer of the bamboo cane representing the cellulosic fibers.
Bamboo, strong, flexible and fast growing, symbolizes strength, flexibility and prosperity.
Accompanied by its transport box.

...

MUDRA OF ESOTERIC BUDDHISM

10 pieces of the practitioner’s manuscript of various hand-signs called ‘tein’ (also ‘inso’, ‘ketsuin’) as the mudra (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mudra) of ‘mikkyo’ (Japanese Esoteric Buddhism), as the symbolic or ritual gesture or pose performed with the hands and fingers for marking each secret of various buddhas, bodhisattvas, deities, etc. Early 20th century. approx. 31 x 26cm (12.20 x 10.23in) each. Some expected...

An antique Japanese Choba Tansu (merchant chest) made of Kiri (Paulownia) and Sugi (Cryptomeria) woods. All hand forged iron hardware including the Kakute handles. It has a configuration of 9 drawers, a pair of Biraki-Do (hinged doors) hiding a center shelf and a thief's door behind which lies two more small drawers. Two side lift-up handles through which a bamboo pole would go allowing two persons to carry this tansu from place to place.

Originating in the Tohoku region of Japan, th...