A literati or bunjin style landscape painting based on an original done by the noted master, Tanomura Chikuden. If the box inscription is correct, the work was done as a study of Chikuden's work and to produce an utsushi or an emulated study of the painting in celebration of the Imperial Art Association.

Tanomura Chikuden was one of the few noted artists in the literati tradition of Japanese paintings during the Edo period...

A scroll perfect for the way of tea done by Yano Ippo (1924~). Ippo served as abbot Zounji and now heads Chozenan. The scroll contains a zen inscription reading "kakunen musho " a saying originating from Bodhidharma when he was having a discourse on Buddhist philosophy with the Emperor Liang. The emperor inquired about how much is his merits worth after he supported the construction of temples, printed sutras, and supported the sangha...

The original painting is housed at the Toyama Museum in Saitama Prefecture and is considered to be one of the few masterpieces by Hanabusa Itcho ( 1652-1724).Itcho became a legend in his own lifetime, and has remained so for an extended period. Banished from the capital of Edo for eleven years, at age 47, he symbolized the Japanese artist-rebel to later generations...

Buji Kore Kinnin: Some translations for the phrase state: do not act - the true person(buji - difficult to translate; someone who has reached a state of mind in zen, which allows him to act free from outer and inner influences)

The calligrapy was done by Kusanagi Zengi (1882-1969) First abbot of the Daikakuji sub-sect of Shingon Buddhism, and 53rd abbot of the famous imperial temple, Daikakuji in Kyoto...

Incense container in the form of a wooden block with various facets and expressions of the wood that can be seen from different angles. Work is made by an artist named Kissen. Typically natural wood incense containers tend to use wood from noted ancient buildings when buildings are being restored. Most of the wood used in the building might not be suitable to be re-used for the building and various objects such as incense containers, tea scoops, frames for the ro or hearth, hibachis, etc...

Height: 9" diameter 4.75"

A large size tsutsu chawan or a tea bowl specifically used during the winter season. The tea bowl is done in a glaze often seen in Hagi ware known as biwa yu or a glaze similar to the color of loquats.

The large size is rather unsual and not often seen in comparison to the standard size tsutsu chawan.

Age: Late 20th century.

Size: Diameter 4.3 in : Height 4.1 in

In Japanese the term used for glass was giyama or giaman. The term is thought to originate from either the Dutch or English (many terms were incorporated from Spanish, Portugese, Dutch, and English during the 18th and 19th centuries).

Cut glass technology first appeared in Satsuma in Kyushu during the late Edo Period around the 1840-1850 period...

Fluted sterling silver bowl. Japanese silver crafts have known internationally for the quality and purity of silver used in its pieces. The bowl can be used in the way of tea as a container for sweets or to be used in the home for a special occasion.

Piece contains a mark reading jungin, the notation used to denote Japanese sterling silver which is close to 96-98 percent purity.

Age: Late Showa Period (1960-1970)

Size:Diameter 7.25". Height 2.25"

This scroll records the visit of the Zen master Arai to the island of Hawaii in the 1930s. Arai, a monk with some distinction, visits Nuuanu Pali, a battlefield. The scroll reads:

All the eight islands of Hawaii thinking like sages, everyone is past and rested is the debate on ethnicity, people were all originally from the surrounding ocean and from the womb.

The exterior of the box is inscribed with the title of the piece, Zen Master Arai's visit to Hawaii...

A Meiji period wood carving of bodhidharma inscribed with the phrase, nana korobi ya oki or "To fall down seven times and to get up eight". No matter what the situation is one always has the power to recover.

Age: 19th-20th century.

Size: 16" H x 28" L x 1 1/2" thick

The term bajouhai has associations with the samurai culture. Uesugi Kenshin, war lord who ruled most of the region known as Echizen was known to use a bajouhai, not for tea, but for sake...