Catalog: Antiques: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese (58)

Gravemarker Moon (Sotouba no tsuki). Printed: 3.1886 Engraver: Yamamoto Signature & Seal: Yositoshi Publisher: Akiyama Buemon. Condition: Very Good colors and impression, full margins. "karazuri" embossing on Ono no Komachi's robes. Format: Oban tate-e: H.13 x W. 8.75". Ono no Komachi was a famous beauty and poetess of the 9th century...

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). Subject: Musha-e (Warrior print); “Yoshitoshi Musha Burui” (Yoshitoshi’s Courageous Warriors): Young Hino Wakamaru (after revenging his father’s death) and the “yamabushi” (mountain priest) escaping from Sado Island”, #14 in this series of 33. Signature: “Yoshitoshi hitsu” (from the brush of Yoshitoshi). Artist’s Seal: Taiso. Engraver: Horikou Muneoka. Publisher: Tsunajima Kanekichi. Date: Meiji 18 (1885.) Format: oban tate-e...

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). Subject: “Kyoudou Risshiki” (Instructive Models of Lofty Ambition), Fujiwara Arihira Walking in the Rain. Text by Eisai. No...

Imari ware bowls for serving small amounts of food were known as "kurowanka." These bowls feature a "sansui" land & sea scape scene in underglaze cobalt blue on a porcelain body. Each piece is in god condition with individual measurements of H.4cm X Dia.15cm.

The Moon Through a Crumbling Window. (Hasou no Tsuki). Printed: 1st day. 2nd month. 1886. Engraver: Yamamoto. Signature: Yoshitoshi. Seal: Yoshitoshi no in. Publisher: Akiyama Buemon. Format: Oban tate-e: H.13 x W. 8.75". Condition: Good Impression & Colors. Light soiling to bottom of print. Retains album backing. Margins trimmed, and left margin covered by album attachment...

Katazome Futonji, Stencil-dyed Bed Cover. Chrysanthemum Pattern. Four-panel indigo-dyed cotton bed cover with pattern of chrysanthemum flowers and leaves. Good condition with some tears, including a 19” vertical tear (see photos.) Top cover only, no wadding or backing. Ca. late-1800’s, early Meiji Era. W.52”(132cm) x L.66”(168cm.) Futonji, bed covers, were a common bridal trousseau item in feudal and early-modern Japan...

Imari ware porcelain soba choko (soba noodle dipping cups) from the mid-Edo Period (1600-1868.) H.5.5cm(2.2") Dia.7cm(2.6".) This pair features underglaze cobalt blue pattern with two of the three friends of winter; pine and plum (the other being bamboo,) front and back of each cup. Abbreviated brushstrokes give these cups an aesthetic of simple beauty. Soba choko were initially used for small morsels of food, much like mukozuke or ko-zara are used in today's presentation of Japanese cuisine...

Artist: Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861). Subject: Mitate-e; “Eikyoudai Mitate Sanjuu Boku Kuisen” (Mirror Selections of 30 Trees & Flowers). Signature: “ichiyuusai Kuniyoshi ga”. Artist Seal: “kiri” (paulownia). Nanushi Censor Seal: “watari” (Watanabe Jiemon). Publisher: Joushuu-ya Kinzou. Date: ca...

An antique flask much like a tokkuri used for transporting sake, the "abura" (oil) "dokkuri" (flask) was used to transport oil products. H.27cm (10.5"), Body Dia.16cm (6.25".) This one is from the old Echigo (present-day Niigata Prefecture) which had stores of oil used for heating and lighting that were shipped up the Japan Sea coast north to Hokkaido. This example is wonderfully pitted with oil over a white glaze, produced at one of the no longer existent folk kilns of the Echigo region...

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). Subject: Musha-e (Warrior print); “Yoshitoshi Musha Burui” (Yoshitoshi’s Courageous Warriors): kurou [9th son] hangan Minamoto Yoshitsune and Musashibou Benkei under a cherry tree )#15 in this series of 33. Signature: “Yoshitoshi hitsu” (from the brush of Yoshitoshi). Artist’s Seal: Taiso. Engraver: Horikou Muneoka. Publisher: Tsunajima Kanekichi. Date: 1886. Format: oban tate-e, H.13 x W...

Imari ware porcelain soba choko with underglaze cobalt blue pattern of "azami" (thistle.) Mid-late Edo Period (1600-1868.) H.6cm (2.3") Dia.7cm (2.6"). A playful rendering of a thistle adorns both sides of this soba choko, with bands around the bottom of the cup. Some minor glaze crazing and cracks, but overall fine condition. Soba choko were initially used for small food items, much like mukozuke or ko-zara are used in today's presentation of Japanese cuisine. Not until later in the Edo Era...

Early Meiji Era Soba Choko with landscape design painted in underglaze cobalt blue on porcelain. Average height of 6cm and average diameter of 7 cm. Though widely attributed to Arita kilns; by the late Edo and Early Meiji Periods, porcelain soba choko were also being made in Seto, as well as at kilns further north in Tohoku. This set of 5 features a typical land/seascape scene of a hut and the sea with a boat and birds flying overhead. All cups are in good condition featuring the same pattern.

Meiji Era futon-ji; indigo dyed cotton with tsutsugaki (free-hand drawn resist) image of the Three Friends of Winter: Pine, Bamboo, and Plum. L.150cm(59") x W.128cm(50"). Such bedding covers were given as part of a bride's dowry, commissioned with auspicious images or a family crest by the bride's family. This theme of Pine, Bamboo, and Plum was especially auspicous for a newly married couple, with each element having its own characteristic way of overcoming hardship (the cold winter.) The free-...

Four-panel kon (dark-blue) indigo-dyed cotton bed cover, woven with kasuri technique creating patterns of squares (well frames.) Top cover only, no backing or wadding; good condition, minor repair to one corner. Ca. 1900. L.54”(137cm) x W.52”(132cm.) Futonji, bed covers, were a common bridal trousseau item in feudal and early-modern Japan. They may have been made by the bride before marriage (in very rural areas,) or more likely commissioned by the bride’s family. The bed cover was often ...

A hanging scroll (kakejiku) attributed to Kano Masunobu (1823-1880) entitled "take suzume" (Bamboo and Sparrow) with Kiri (paulownia wood) box. Kano Masunobu, also known as Toun, was a member of the Kano School of painters who excelled in ink paintings (occasionally with the addition of pale tints) of landscapes and birds. The school's founder, Kano Masunobu (1423-1530,) was attached to the court of Shogun Yoshimasa. Scroll dimensions: H.90cm(35.25") x W.43cm(17"). Silk-bordered area: H.37c...

Japanese Candle Stand, shokudai, made of lacquered wood. H.43cm(17") x Base Diameter 10cm(4"). Mid-late 19th century.Will include 2 "warosoku" (Japanese tapered candles with hole in base.)

Imari ware soba choko (soba noodle dipping cup) from the mid-late Edo period (1600-1868.) Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue painting of "takenoko" bamboo shoot pattern. H.5.5cm(2.17") x Dia.7.5cm(2.95"). A crack in the rim has been repaired using synthetic gold and lacquer. Soba choko were originally used for small morsels of food much like the mukozuke is used in today's Japanese place setting. It was not until later in the Edo Period that they were made specifically for use as noodle dippi...

Artist: Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). Subject: “Kyoudou Risshiki” (Instructive Models of Lofty Ambition), Toyotomi Hideyoshi seated on a tiger skin listening to a priest speaking on behalf of the Mouri clan. Text by Housai. No. 33 in a series of 52. Signature: “taiso Yoshitoshi”. Artist’s Seal: Taiso. Engraver: Kataoka (per Keyes, p 459.) Publisher: Matsuki Heikichi. Date: Meiji 18 (1885), 12th month (December.) Format: oban tate-e with printed borders, H.12.5 x W.8.25"(inc...