A black bird sporting a tufted beak shelters among the thick foliage of fresh bamboo by the easily identifiable and quite rare artist Sakakibara Shiho performed with pigment on silk in the original signed double wood box titled Mosochiku Hakkacho (Crested Myna Bird in Moso Bamboo), a favorite motif by the artist dating from the Taisho period. It is bordered in fine pattered silk threaded with gold and is appointed with solid ivory rollers (these will be changed if exporting)...

A rare antique Japanese Okidoko (display stand for a Tokonoma room) made of Keyaki (Zelkova) wood. The top is one thick solid long piece of this rare wood...

Gold dragons prance about the vermillion surface of this exquisite vessel by important Meiji potter Eiraku Zengoro XIV (Tokuzen) enclosed in the original signed wooden box which is in turn enclosed in an outer box also annotated by a later generation Eiraku. Remembered specifically for his mastery of Aka-e Kinsai ware, this is a museum worthy example of this important potters work. It is 43 cm (17 inches) tall and in excellent condition...

A magnificent set of five wooden bowls lacquered red with a net design enclosed in the original wooden box titled Shu-nuri Amime Hashiaraiwan dating from the first half of the 20th century. Excluding the lid each is 7.5 cm (3 inches) tall, roughly the same diameter at the rim, and all are in excellent condition. Repeated use of lacquer tends to see the black acquire a brown tinge. These remain jet black, and it is likely they have been virtually unused for the better part of a century...

Small Kagamibuta (button that acts as a netsuké in traditional Japanese clothing). However the size of this one is unusually too small. To my knowledge, there is no Kagamibuta of this size (32mm) usually the diameter of these exceeds 50mm. This is not the only particularity of this jewel, indeed the presence of glass paste is absolutely exceptional, there too, I do not know of any other netsuké, manju or kagamibuta created in this material...

Tokunyu was born as the eldest son of seventh-generation master Chonyu. He succeeded his father at the age of 18, but was prone to illness, and when his father died, he passed the mantle on to his younger brother later known as Ryonyu.

As he was sickly from a young age, he was a Raku master only for nine years and the number of his remaining works is the fewest among all Raku generations...

A striking soft-glazed six-sided incense burner by Maki Hokusai decorated with white flower blossoms on soft flesh colored glaze surmounted by a silver lid pierced with the character Kotobuki (Fortune) by Hata Zoroku. The pot itself is 10 cm tall, plus the sliver lid. It comes in an ancient wooden box signed by Zoroku.
Hata Zoroku I (1823-1890) learned metalwork techniques in the studio of Ryubundo in Kyoto...

This is a japanese antique Edo period (1800-1867)hemp Buddhist Shugensha hanten coat worn by Shugen practitioners and Yamabushi who practiced Shugendo. Shugendo is a unique Japanese religion that combines Buddhism, Shinto and the worship of nature (mountains). It has some light stains and one very small hole, but is in very good condition. Size::Length :90 cm (35.3 inch) / Sleeve to sleeve :128 cm (50.3 inch)

An incredible Mishima Chawan dating from the Edo period with a wide repair to the rim in dark lacquer decorated with golden grasses in gold maki-e lacquer designs. It comes in an ancient dilapidated silk pouch with cotton buffer enclosed in an age darkened kiri-wood box titled Mishima Chawan. The bowl is 5.5 cm (2 inches) tall, 12.5 -13.5 cm (5-1/2 -6 inches) diameter and in fine condition. Mishima ware refers to different types of imported and adopted Japanese pottery...

Bronze dropper (suiteki) representing a chubby guardian lion, called komainu in Japanese or shishi in Chinese.

The komainu is inspired by the Chinese guardian lion shishi, which dates back to the Tang dynasty (581-618). Supposed to repel evil, it appears on both sides of the entrance to the doors or gates of shrines and temples.

The suiteki is a small container used to hold water that is added to the ink stone during the grinding of the ink stick, used for calligraphy...

Rectangular-shaped (nadekakugata) iron tsuba decorated with two dragonflies with copper tara-zogan inlay.

Japan – Edo period (1603-1868)
Width: 2.4 in. (6.2 cm) – depth: 2.7 in. (7 cm)

This is a Bakumatsu item. This hemp Tsutsugaki Noren was used by merchants who handled horses, which was an important means of transportation from the end of the Edo period to the Meiji period. This Noren was used in front of the eaves, so it has some discoloration and light stains, but it has been carefully stored. The items are very rare and very valuable. The letters of "Otsu Higashimachi" are the letters of a spell to ward off horse plagues...

Dry lacquer Noh mask depicting the character of Kokushiki-Jo and designed to represent divine blessings...

Ko Imari Oranda-jin Hexagonal Hakukaku Mukuzuke c.1800 A deep octagonal bowl, mukuzuke, or choku, decorated with eight panels containing figures of orand-jin Dutchmen in various poses and involved in a number of activities. Some carry canes or cudgels and are perhaps involved in some sort of martial activity, whilst others carry a dove, a chatusbo (tea-jar) and a ruyi sceptre, auspicious objects. The Japanese were particular fascinated with the mysterious foreigners attachment to animals as pet...

Satzuma fine earthenware tea bowl by Nakamura Baikei (1868-1912). Decor of a palace or a temple rising in a snow-covered lake landscape and animated by numerous characters. Drawings very finely executed by Baikei who was one of the best artists in Satzuma. His works were widely copied. Its production was of irregular quality, sometimes weak, rarely excellent. The bowl presented here is one of his best creations, if not the best, because it is perfect. It is a bowl, moreover the shape is atypical...

A fine Arita sometsuke fish shaped dish carefully modelled in the form of a Carp, koi-gata o-sara dating to the late 17C. See “The Trakatori Collection” Kyushu Museum 2020 for a set of similar dishes there dated 1670-1690’s. This example probably dates from the 1690’s, the Genroku era. Fish shaped dishes were a popular accompaniment of the tea ceremony, Chinese ko sometsuke examples made specifically for the Japanese market date from the early 17th century, Tianqi era. The Koi was...

A fine Arita sometsuke fish shaped dish carefully modelled in the form of a Carp, koi-gata o-sara dating to the late 17C. See “The Trakatori Collection” Kyushu Museum 2020 for a set of similar dishes there dated 1670-1690’s. This example probably dates from the 1690’s, the Genroku era. Fish shaped dishes were a popular accompaniment of the tea ceremony, Chinese ko sometsuke examples made specifically for the Japanese market date from the early 17th century, Tianqi era. The Koi was ...