This is a beautiful andon( lantern ) which is made of wood and coated with brown urushi ( japanese lacquer ). The light source was oil or a candle in old days, but a light bulb is replaced for this one. You can see the prominent craftsmanship of wood, especially in the round cover. In excellent condition. Mid to late 19th century. Height: 62.5cm Diameter of the cover: 26cm Diameter of the bottom: 18cm

This is a Buddhist monk's kesa made of silk gauze and silk gold brocade. It has wear and some rips and has stains in the lining. Late 19th to early 20th century. 200cm x 113cm

This is a Korean wrapping cloth, chogappo which is made of asa ( linen ) and all hand sewn. "Pojagi" is a general name for wrapping cloth and "chogappo" is one kind of pojagi which is made with patch-work with silk as well as asa ( reference source: "Korean Embroidery and Wrapping Cloths from the Choson Dynasty" published by Japan Art & Culture Association in 1995 ). This one is made of fragments of asa which are old cloth and has three mending patches which look done in later time...

This is a girl's under kimono hand-woven of wild silk ( yama mayu ) which makes natural stripe or check pattern. It has thick cotton lining. In excellent condition. Late 19th century. 77cm x 81cm

This is a han-juban ( short under kimono ) made of Narumi-kongata cloth. Narumi-kongata is katazome ( stencil-dyeing ) which looks like shibori ( tie-dyeing ). Shibori textile has been produced in Arimatsu Narumi region in Aichi prefecture since 17th century. Compared with time-consuming shibori textile, Narumi-kongata textile can be produced more amount in same pattern, however it needs elaborate plural paper stencils. It is made of hand-spun cotton and dyed with natural indigo...

This is a boro small kesa ( a garment for a Buddhist monk ) which is made of many pieces of gold silk brocade. It is all hand-sewn and has karakusa ( arabesque ) pattern with Aoi-mon ( crest of hollyhock ). Late 19th century. 85cm x 43.5cm

This is a cloth made of many kinds of silk such as brocade which is finely and elaborately hand-woven, satin, plain cloth with very fine komon pattern etc. Most of the cloth are dyed with natural indigo. The usage of the cloth is not clear but it seems that it was used in the temple. Late 19th century. 68cm x 89cm

This is a chu-ya obi ( sash ). "Chu-ya" means "day and night" and chu-ya obi is a sash which has two different designs and textiles in both sides. It has beautiful embroidery of wisteria and cherry blossom motifs on beige satin ground and bright color katazome ( stencil-dyeing ) flowers on thick silk crepe ground. It has light patina and a few stains on beige ground side, however the silk crepe side is in excellent condition. Early to mid 20th century. 32.5cm x 4m

This is a hanten with rare shibori design, as it generally has tsutsugaki design. It has kanji characters "Yokote Saichuu Hakimono-ten" in front. Yokote is a town in Akita prefecture in north east district. In excellent condition and wearable. Early to mid 20th century. 130cm x 97.5cm

This is a large furoshiki ( wrapping cloth ) with katazome ( stencil-dyeing ) check pattern and butterfly crest. It is made of hand-spun cotton cloth and dyed with natural indigo and natural yellow dye. In good condition except for a few tiny holes ( 1~2mm ) and some green color faded parts. Late 19th century. 138cm x 142cm 54" x 56"

This is a boro futon cover with many mending patches which are mostly hand-woven and natural indigo dyed cotton cloth such as stripes, plain, check, katazome ( stencil-dyeing ) and tsutsugaki ( free-hand painting using rice paste as resist ). Early 20th century. 94cm x 161cm 37" x 5ft3.5"

This is a beautiful obi ( sash ) woven of silk threads in many colors which make amazing stripes. It is plain weaving and has rather thin texture and no lining. It has some bluish blurs in the white part, however in good condition as a whole considering it is vintage and used one. Early to mid 20th century. 28cm x 3m88cm 11" x 12ft9"