A charming, large wooden Japanese sign covered top to bottom in kanji promoting sumo wrestling match. Dates from the Meiji Period 19th century. Size: 58" height, 45.5" length, 1" width

Very quintessential Japanese hanging bronze garden lantern from the Taisho Period, Ca. 1912-1926. Elegant blue-green oxidized bronze patina from years of use. Excellent condition. Papering and electric can be added on request. 11" tall by 9" wide. Ask for shipping quote.

Japanese carved bone three(3) monkey design Fan Holder, Meiji period, 1 1/8" high, 2 1/4" wide, 1/2" deep, with opening on the bottom and wider opening on the top, carved serious money faces with black enameled wide eyes. There are some stains and wears on the surface.

This wonderful Edo period antique Japanese tobacco box is made of wood and covered with lacquer which is now seriously aged. In the middle of the lid is small sculptured detail. The box has the original cord and horn tip toggle, and still contains tobacco. Circa 1860's this box is 4.5" x 2.5" x 3" high. It is truly a piece of old ethnographic folk art from Japan's Edo period.

Spectacular Toyokuni Tryptich c.1850 of 3 samurai guards of an imperial palanquin. Colors and facial expressions of these Kabuki actors superb. Excellent condition and framed. No urauchi. Publishers and all info. available. In our US warehouse. Ask for shipping quote.

Rustic round platter, called ishizara in Japanese, used in kitchens and commoners’ households. Pale yellow glaze that typically leaves the foot free. The plate is slightly warped, as is common with ishizara. Seto ware, Edo period.

In the Meiji era this plate was additionally decorated in moriage technique with overglaze enamels that required lower kiln temperatures...

An antique Japanese large Jizai (hearth hook) used above an Irori (fire hearth) and hung beneath the house rafter to support a rope and hook or a Jizai Kagi (adjustable hook) to hold a kettle or large teapot above the burning charcoal. Carved from one solid piece of Keyaki (Zelkova) wood, this sculpture epitomizes the true feeling of the Japanese word Mingei (folk art)...

Kanban with identical inscription on both sides: goko (five scents), a general, government licensed medication against all kinds of ailments. Middle brown wood with carved inscription, painted brown, gold and red. Forged iron handle on top.
Height with handle 22 5/8 in. (58.2 cm), without handle 21 in. (53.9 cm), width 7 in. (18 cm).
Some of the colors chipped out of the grooves, partly repainted and chipping again, some minor, short cracks and chips around the handle...

Fabulous Taisho Period c.1920 iron lantern. Repapered and electric source added. Very art deco. 10" tall by 9" in diameter. Ask for shipping quote from California.

Antique Rare Ainu woven pouch, created by the indigenous people of northern Japan. The Ainu are well known for their especially beautiful attusi garments made of woven elm bark. This rare pouch is made of a variety of natural fibers, with reinforced corners and edges. The detailed patterns of the Ainu were past down through generations of women and were believed to protect the wearer from evil spirits. This pouch is beautifully constructed with another smaller woven pocket on the inside...

Fabulous almost art deco old Japanese medicine shop kanban or shop sign. Meiji Period C.1900.This sign was made for the Tayama Yakuho Medicine shop in Awakuni the Meiji Period name for present day Awajishima island near Shikoku. The Medicine, Keishintan, was for the stomach. We can translate all the writing on the sign by request. H:16" x W:34" Ask for shipping quote.

DESCRIPTION: In Japanese lore, there are countless tales about the mischievous Tanuki, a real animal native to Japan. Masked like a raccoon but big and stocky like a badger, they are said to have supernatural powers to transform into any living or inanimate shape. Often they assume the form of a monk, as our Tanuki does here. This Tanuki okimono is hand crafted from a single piece of wood in the best of Mingei traditions...

Kanban with the inscription Inari taiji goyo (great Inari shrine, your order). The sign may refer to a shop at the shrine grounds, selling things to be offered at the shrine or souvenirs, or to a shop that specifically make devotional objects to the order of this particular Inari shrine. Attached to a black patinated wooden board are a bell and rope and two small objects, covered in gold brocade. Forged iron handle at top...

Early Japanese version of today's carpenters tool called a "chalk box". Carved from a block of wood, the well would hold cotton saturated with charcoal ash...this one has original wheel and string and shows that it has been well used....

A pair of Edo Period C.1860 shishi wood lion carvings. Quite playful as one looks back at the other in chase. Excellent detail in the carving and very expressive. Carved out of hinoki cypress. One shishi is missing a claw but otherwise very good condition. See photos. Each 12" long x 5" tall. Ask for shipping quote.

An Asian wood cookie press. Folk art (Japanese or Korean - if Japanese would be considered "Mingei") utilitarian object. The "cookies", or treats, pressed from this mechanism could have been sweetened bean paste, possibly with rice starch, and not necessarily cooked. The iron nails slide along routing to enable the pressing action. Well used and in fair condition - exhibiting some distress by loss of wood on ends of the top board. A nicely decorative curiosity. Length, 9 7/8 inches

Takatsuki; footed tray. Wood with black lacquer, ca. 1900. H.1.75"(4.5cm) x Dia.6"(15cm). Such trays were used for food service or offerings. Suitable for a sweets dish in tea ceremony.

Antique Samurai drinking vessel with red lacquer and wooden stopper in excellent condition. The hand made cord tassels complete the set.

Dark old patina due to its age enhances its historical beauty. The sake gourd was a common attribute of the Samurai, it was traditionally attached to the waist by a cord.

In Japan, gourd or "hyotan" is a symbol of good luck or success.

Symbolic belief of gourd in Japan has existed for a long time...