This piece was fired in the kilns of one of Kyoto’s most prolific Raku-yaki workshops by an artist known as Heian Shoraku. In 1905, the first generation Shoraku established a kiln near the famous Kiyomizu temple, nestled at the foot of the eastern mountains in Kyoto. In 1945, the kiln was moved to Kameoka near Yada shrine where it remains today. While not directly associated with the famous Kyoto potting family now in its 16th generation and stretching back over 450 years, this pot...

Antique Japanese 4-panel small screen painting of landscape. Mountain landscape with rocky outcroppings, huts and trees on the edge of a wide expanse of water. A group of scholars contemplate a water fall. More figures sit outside waterside huts. A lone figure fishes from a boat. Painted in ink and light colors on paper. Signed Unkoku Toeki (1591-1644).
Unkoku Toeki was the second son of Unkoku Tōgan. (1547–1618), heir to the artistic legacy and patrons of Sesshû Tōyō (1420–15...

This scroll contains a sutra written as [寿至蓬莱不老僊], pronounced in Japanese as “Jyu-Ita-Hōrai-Furō-Sen.” Originating from Chinese, the characters “蓬莱” refer to the mythical land of “Penglai,” home to the immortals. According to legend the trees that grow here cure all disease; there are rice bowls and flasks of wine that never go empty; and its great castles are built entirely out of gold and silver.

The brushwork is done by a Rinzai sect m...

Japanese bamboo crafting, known as "Takezaiku," is a traditional art form that involves the skilled manipulation of bamboo to create various functional and decorative objects. Craftsmen trained in this art carefully select bamboo of appropriate size and quality, then use specialized tools to cut, shape, and join the bamboo pieces. Techniques such as splitting, bending, weaving, and binding are employed to achieve intricate designs and durable structures. Bamboo crafting encompasses a...

Crafted from locally sourced Bizen clay, this mid-Edo period vase embodies simplicity, beauty, and understated elegance. Originally crafted as a tokkuri, or sake flask, it was recovered from the estate of a tea-practitioner who reportedly cherished it as a vase that would hold colorful flowers and various grasses throughout the seasons.

Thanks to the dedication and passion of a researcher by the name of Katsura Matasaburo (1901-1986) we can be assured that this vase is a...

Crafted with meticulous attention to detail and showcasing a soft and gracefully executed red glaze, this Raku tea bowl exudes a sense of ease, tenderness, and tranquility. Adorned with subtle crackling patterns and variations in texture, the tea bowl's surface adds to its unique and organic feel. Made by one of the true veterans of Japanese pottery, these are some of the finest Raku tea bowls you will find in all of Japan.

Sugimoto (b. 1935) is one of the most important...

Magnificent pottery Ding. The long legs and “cockscomb” design where, the legs join the body, are in keeping with bronze vessels from the Zhou to Warring States period, which pottery pieces were trying to emulate. There are traces of a repetitive meandering impressed band below mid circumference. The body is thinly potted with very light gray clay and originally had a dark gray slip applied to the outside (the original gray slip is still intact in the cavity). All the legs and one ha...

A large lozenge shaped bowl of thick clay covered in fawn spotted glaze by Kiyomizu Rokubei V decorated with a poem by Hashimoto Kansetsu enclosed in the original wooden box signed by both artists titled Gohon Fuseikei Hachi (Bowl of irregular shape in Gohon glaze. It is quite large, 34×26.5㎝ x 15cm (13-1/2 x 10-1/2 x 6 inches) and is in excellent condition.
Hashimoto Kansetsu (1883–1945) was born in Kobe, son of painter Hashimoto Kaikan from whom he gained a love of Chinese culture...

An unprecedented 19th century ceramic sculpture of a tumble of Shishi lions in a playful fight covered in unusual green-blue glaze. The Banko mark is impressed into the white clay of the base. It is very unusual to find large sculptures or works in Banko ware. This is 30 × 25 x 26.5 cm (12 x 10 x 10-1/2 inches) and in excellent condition. It comes in a box titled Okimono Banko-yaki Gyoku (Jade?) Shishi, with an inscription inside stating it was named a famous piece of the Shrine in July of 192...

Ito Yuhan
Kiyomizu Temple (Temple Corner)
Date: 1930s.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.5 inches.
Publisher: Nishinomiya Yosaku. Seal at the left margin. Back stamp: "All Rights Reserved. Y. Nishinomiya, Kami-Negishi, Tokyo."
Sealed "Yuhan" in Japanese within the image.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Foxing spots and toning. Tape remnants at top back.
Note: This print has the above condition issues as shown but is a pleasing early exampl...

Exceptional Pair of Monumental 17th C. Japanese Bronze Temple Lanterns A pair of exceptional and extremely rare bronze antique 17th century Japanese lanterns from a prominent Tokugawa temple courtyard. Each lantern is made of 10 individual cast bronze sections. Heavenly creatures and symbology are abundant and include: fu-dogs, apsaras (Heavenly People & Celestial Beings), scholars objects and swirling clouds seen throughout.
Apsaras a symbol of beauty, good fortune, fertility, heaven....

Pair of antique Japanese Inari foxes hand carved out of granite. Each has traces of the original mineral pigment. Also called zenko, these good spirit kitsune (foxes) are specifically associated with the goddess, Inari.
Believed to be both messengers and guardians, kitsune served Inari in her role as goddess of agriculture, specifically rice. Part of the folklore surrounding the fox is it’s ability to shape shift into human form. It is believed that Inari Okami herself sometimes took ...

An unusually small creamer, Chinese export porcelain from the Qianlong period, c 1770. Decoration in the European taste of scattered flowers, a thin lattice border and garlands. Height "3 1/3/ 8.5 cm. Condition: a professional restoration is visible near the beak where the decoration is restored with exactly the same enamels as the original (cf. pics).

Japanese antique small 6-panel screen painting of five cranes flying over waves as the sun rises in the distance. Painted in mineral colors with gold flecks on paper. Signature: Morifusa.

Age: Showa Period Mid 20th Century

Dimensions: 22 1/2" high x 62 1/2" long

The inside of this bowl has been glazed, the exterior left in raw clay before the entire was dipped in white gold, creating a stark contrast between inner and outer surfaces by Ogawa Machiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Hakukinsai Hachi. It is 14.5cm (just under 6 inches) wide 8cm (3-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Ogawa Machiko was born in Sapporo on the Northern Island of Hokkaido in 1946. She studied under future Living National Treasures Fujimoto Yo...

Invisible from the top, glimmering stones catch the light in the raw cracked clay on the outside of this dark earthen bowl by Ogawa Machiko enclosed in the original signed wooden box titled Yami to Sei (Darkness and Stars) Chawan. A beautiful bowl showing the artists fascination with the combination of smooth crystalline surfaces and raw matte clay. The interior is glazed, while the outside is raw clay. It is roughly 15.3 cm (6 inches) diameter, 8 cm (3-1/4 inches) tall and in excellent conditi...

A dynamic floral pattern in pale blue and white on pink by Kiyomizu Rokubei V showing the developmental stage of his iconic Taireiji works. Undeniably Taireiji was the most important development by this innovative artist, and pieces are exceedingly rare. It is 19cm (7-1/2 inches) diameter, 27.5cm (11 inches) tall and in excellent condition.
Kiyomizu Rokubei V (Shimizu Kuritaro, 1875-1959) initially studied painting and decorating technique under Kono Bairei, one of the foremost painters i...

Rare soy brown glazed stoneware vessel made in the shape of a grain silo. This basic style are well documented in Qingbai wares but this is the first I have seen in a brown glaze, also it has a fence going around the base which is quite unusual. It is in excellent condition with no repairs, cracks or fritting of the glaze and it is unusually large. H: 24cm/9.5in and D: 18cm/7in. It reminds me a lot of a Jizhou glaze but this seems heavier and more stable.