Takahashi Shotei (1871-1945)
Moon from a Harbor (Minato no tsuki)
Date: pre-1916.
Size: Mitsugiri-ban. Approximately 15 x 6.75 inches.
Shotei double red square seal and title at upper left.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: M-110 in Shotei catalog.
Note: Blocks destroyed in 1923 earthquake.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: The faint mark at the far right corresponds to a mark on the back of the print.

Japanese shin hanga woodblock print by Shiro Kasamatsu (1898-1991) titled "Misty Evening at Shinobazu Pond" dated in the left margin "4th month of Showa 7" (1932). First edition impression bearing the C-seal ("sausage seal") of the publisher Watanabe in the lower right margin. This seal was used between 1929-1942. The artist's red signature seal is located at the lower left corner of the image. Paper size: 15 1/4" x 10 1/4" (image: 14 1/8" x 9 1/4")...

Chidori plovers soar between warm green clouds draped over the rim of this Oribe style bowl by Kitaoji Rosanjin enclosed in a double wood box (Nijubako) annotated by Living National Treasure Kaneshige Toyo. On the bottom of the bowl is the star mark of Rosanjin, which he used to mark pieces made for his restaurant. The bowl is 16.5 cm (6-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition. The box is titled Oribe-fu Chawan, Rosanjin-saku (Oribe style bowl made by Rosanjin)...

A fabulous Bizen Tane-Tsubo Seed Jar in the Momoyama style by Living National Treasure Kaneshige Toyo enclosed in a wooden box annotated by Kaneshige Kosuke. Beautiful Hi-iro flame coloring brightens the sides and a smattering of yellow flying ash clings to the shoulder about a line of waves. The tsubo is marked on the base with the fundo weight mark of Toyo. It is 23.5 cm (9 inches) tall, 20.5 cm (8 inches) diameter and in excellent condition...

A bunch of grapes in slight color under shadowy cool leaves decorate the milky white and sand toned surface of this very unusual plate by Kitaoji Rosanjin enclosed in a wooden box annotated by Living National Treasure Arakawa Toyozo dated 1968. It is 19 cm (7-1/2 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959) They say adversity is the mother of invention, and Rosanjin can be said to epitomize that expression...

Kawase Hasui
Hwasa Gate, Suwon (Mizuhra Kakomon). From the series Eight Views of Korea (Chosen Hakkei).
Date: August 1939.
Size: Oban. Approximately 16.5 x 11.5 inches.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe C seal (sausage seal 1929-42)...

Nishimura Hodo
Bridge in Rain at Night
Date: 1930s.
Size: Mitsugiriban. Approximately 15.5 x 7.25 inches.
Publisher: Takemura Shokai (stamp in left margin). Takemura Hideo label on back.
Signed by the artist. Takemura seal below signature.
Edition: First and only.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Light, horizontal crease in sky. Toning in margin

A vintage Japanese Ranma (transom) made of Kusunoki (Camphor) and Hinoki (Cypress) woods. Hand carved in deep relief depicting an auspicious Plum Blossom Tree with Bamboo and Irises. Celebrating the change of seasons from winter to spring, it shows many flower buds ready to bloom with a few blooming in all its beauty.

Age: Late Taisho through Early Showa Era (1926-1950).

Dimensions: 67 1/4" Wide x 16" High by 2 3/4" Deep

Pulguk Temple, Kyongju
Series: Eight Views of Korea
Date: 1939.
Size: Dai-oban. Approximately 16.75 x 11.75 inches.
Hasui signature and seal lower left.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. E-seal at right margin - used 1932-42.
Reference: Hotei No. 432.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Slight creasing at top margin and top right. One foxing spot on back in sky.

Ohara Hoson (Koson)
Flowering Lotus
Size: Oban. Approximately 14.25 x 9.5 inches.
Date: 1920s. First edition.
Publisher: Kawaguchi and Sakai. Publisher's seal in right margin. Carver (Maeda) and printer (Komatsu) seals in left margin.
Koson's "Hoson" signature and seal at lower right.
Made in Japan stamped on verso.
Reference: H43.4 and cat...

Japanese shin hanga woodblock print by Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995) titled "White Plum in the Farmyard" dated in the left margin 1951. The artists's red seal is at the lower left and the print is pencil-signed in the lower right margin. Early edition likely dating from the 1950s/60s. Paper size: 15 1/2" x 10 7/8" (image: 14 3/8" x 9 5/8"). Very good overall condition. The back margin edge is very lightly distressed. The original 14,000 yen price is in pencil on the back lower right edge.

Ohara Koson (Shoson)
Cockatoo and Pomegranate
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.25 x 10.25 inches.
Date: 1927. This edition 1946-1957.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. Watanabe 6mm seal at lower left.
Shoson signature and seal lower right...

Kawase Hasui
Kyonghwe Pavilion, Kyongsong
Series: Eight Views of Korea
Date: 1939. This edition 1943-45.
Size: Dai-oban. Approximately 16.75 x 11.75 inches.
Hasui signature and seal lower left.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo. G seal at right margin. Used 1942-45.
Printer: Ono Gintaro. Seal in right margin. Used 1943-1947. Reference: Hotei No. 436.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Very good to excellent...

Ohara Koson
Wading Egret With Reeds
Size: Shikishiban. Approximately 11.25 x 10.5 inches.
Date: 1930s.
Koson signature and seal at lower right.
Publisher: Daikokuya (Matsuki Heikichi). This edition published by Kawaguchi.
Reference: AK14.15 in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
"Made in Japan" and "No. 25" stamped on verso.
Condition: Excellent with faint dot of foxing on bird's back. Pencil notes at back margi...

I have seen a lot of work over the last quarter century by Kawai Kanjiro, and among it all, this is an absolute stunner. 'Museum quality' as a quote gets thrown around a lot, but I do not use it lightly. The form, the clarity of the white, the crispness of the lines of color and his obvious deft touch. It ranks among the top ten percent I have seen by this important artist without a doubt. The vessel is 19 x 12.5 x 16.5 cm (7-1/2 x 5 x 6-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition, enclosed in...

Ohara Koson
Nuthatcher Atop Persimmon
Size: O-tanzaku. Approximately 14.5 x 7.25 inches.
Date: ca. 1910s-1920s.
Koson seal lower right.
Publisher: Daikokuya (89)
Reference: K18.1 and in Crows, Cranes and Camellias: The Natural World of Ohara Koson (Reigle Newland).
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent. Pencil notation on back.

Takahashi Shotei (1871-1945)
Singers of Popular Songs
Date: pre-1936.
Size: Koban. Approximately 7.5 x 5.0 inches.
Shotei seal at right.
Publisher: Watanabe Shozaburo.
Reference: S-10 in Shotei catalog. Watanabe catalog No. 179
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Shoda Koho
Futamigaura - Wedded Rocks
From the Hasegawa Night Scenes series.
Size: Chuban. Approximately 11.5 x 8.5 inches.
Date: 1910s-20s. This edition 1938-60s.
Publisher: Hasegawa/Nishinomiya Yosaku. Seal at left margin.
Sealed by artist at lower right.
Medium: Japanese woodblock print.
Condition: Excellent.

Bag handmade of bamboo strips with nice color. Handles are also made of thin bamboo sticks. In excellent condition, no break or loose part. The second half of the 20th century. W:39cm, H:23cm, 6cm

Made by Living National Treasure, Fujiwara Yu (1932-2001), this Bizen Hidasuki sake bottle was made about 50 years ago. Yu Fujiwara, one of the most well-known Bizen potters of his time, has become the fourth Bizen Living National Treasure in 1996. There are only five people having such title for Bizen pottery and his father, Kei Fujiwara, became the second Bizen Living National Treasure in 1970. Prior to that, Fujiwara Yu was designated as an Intangible Cultural Property of his native Okayam...

As best I can tell, this is the rare first edition of this print, dating to 1934. Present are both the Watanabe "sausage" seal as well as the red 6mm seal, visible in the lower left corner of the print. The subject is commonly listed as "Snow at Ukimido Temple," and is both rare and highly sought after. The print measures 10-1/4" X 15-1/4", a size commonly described as "oban." As you can see from the photographs, there are some relatively minor condition issues: small pieces of paper tape remain...

Bashofu kimono hand-woven of banana fiber for both wefts and warps. The yarn is rather thicker and tougher comparing with very fine yarn for thinner and higher quality bashofu, so that it is for a everyday kimono or work wear. Brown stripes are also banana fibers. Late 19th to early 20th century. In good condition except for a mending near the lower side in the back and wear near neck. 104cm x 115cm

Boro furoshiki with many mending patches with various cloth and interesting mending stitches. The ground cloth is thin cotton cloth in gray. The first half of the 20th century. 126cm x 126cm

A Japanese ranma (transom) with a Hinoki (Cypress) frame and an Akita Sugi (Akita Cryptomeria) wood hand carved bamboo and plum blossom theme in a highly detailed three dimensional relief. Most likely mounted in a wealthy Japanese home or a fancy Ryokan (country inn). Its main theme is a majestic Plum Blossom tree (known as Bai) accented with Bamboo (Chiku). The ranma was often mounted above the Fusuma sliding doors between rooms to allow the air to circulate freely. This allowed each room...

Sakiori obi (sash) for casual kimono. Wefts are strips recycled from silk kimono and warps are black cotton. In excellent condition. 20th century. 13.5cm x 2m40cm

Kikuchi Yuichi
Figure Walking in Snow
Date: Early 1950s.
Woodblock print is tipped at the top to an original 1950s Japanese holiday card.
Size: Approximately 5.75 x 3.75 inches.
Condition: Excellent.

Katharine Jowett (1890-1965) Sunset Behind East Gate, Peking.
Date: ca. 1930.
Size: 10.5 x 6.0 inches.
Pencil-signed by the artist.
Medium: Woodblock print.
Condition: Light crease. See additional photos. Top back margin has transparent tape from previous framing.

A classic design, the peach is said to represent long-life for mortals and immortality for the gods in Asian folklore. According to legend, the moon goddess—a powerful alchemist—can make an elixir from peaches that grow in the garden of the western paradise with miraculous revitalizing properties. This piece was made by one of the few great female Japanese potters of the 20th century—Suwa Sozan II, daughter of Meiji Imperial Court Artist Sozan I. Although the peach motif can be seen in man...

Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950)
Mt. Rainier
United States series.
Date: 1925.
Edition: Posthumous. "Toku" (special) seal.
Size: 21.0 x 15.25 inches.
Pencil signed and titled in English. Signed and sealed in Japanese within the image.
Reference: Abe catalog #13.
Condition: Very good color. Outer margin edge is toned.

This masterful rendition of an idilic landscape done in the Nanga style of Chinese painting is spread across three canvases titled 1) “Arashiyama” (A district nestled at the foot of Kyoto’s eastern mountain range), 2) “Kyomizu-dera” (One of Kyoto’s most iconic temples located in the western foothills), and 3) “Tatsuta” (An area west of Kyoto on the edge of Lake Biwa, known for its expansive fields of lotus flowers). These three actual places are used as the inspiration for this f...

Motoyama Izumi (b. 1938) Bizen Sake Bottle Tokkuri This Bizen stoneware sake bottle is made with natural ash glaze. The works of Motoyama Izumi are held in Brooklyn Museum in New York. Bizen pottery was originally produced in Imbe village of Bizen province since Kamakura period of 14th century. Size Height 12cm Diameter 8.5cm Condition : Very good condition, no chips, no cracks. Supplied with original signed wooden box.

Small bamboo basket box with washi. The corners of the bamboo basket are rather breakable, so it has nice washi for reinforcement outside as well as inside. In good condition. The first half of the 20th century. 10.5cm x 16cm x 5.5cm (with a lid)

Ota Masamitsu (Ota Gako) (1892-1975)
Nakamura Tokizo III as Shizuka Gozen
No. 7 from the shin hanga series: Leading Figures of the Modern Stage in Their Most Famous Roles (Gendai Butai Geika).
Date: 1955.
Size: Oban. Approximately 15.75 x 10.75 inches.
Publisher: Banchoro. Seal at bottom margin.
Printer: Miyake Koshodo. Seal at bottom margin.
Condition: Excellent.

Meiji Period (1868-1912) Japanese Raku Chawan with Amazing Glaze for Tea Ceremony Raku pottery is traditionally used in Japanese tea ceremony since as early as the 16th century. Size Width 11.3cm Height 8.3cm Weight 340g + Box 260g Condition Overall good considering the age. Supplied with fabric bag shifuku and wooden box

A small bowl in Kaki-yu by important artist Kawai Kanjiro enclosed in a wooden box upon which his friend and equally important artist Munakata Shiko has painted an image of the bowl outside titled Go-Kowan (Honorable small bowl) and inside annotated: Kanjiro Sensei Saku (Made by Kanjiro), signed Munakata Shiko. It is 10 cm (4 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.
Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966) was a true artist by nature, and together with Hamada Shoji, set a pattern of study for moder...

Dramatic waves are combed into the clay surface of this large Toban Platter by Living National Treasure Suzuki Osamu (Kura) covered in glass-like copper green; unusually signed and dated on bottom 1957 and enclosed in an artist signed wooden box. This has the wow factor in truckloads! A quintessential piece by this influential artist showing not only the innovation early in his career, but the consistency with which he approached Mino pottery, Museum quality, sure to become a centerpiece of an...