Catalog: Archives: Regional Art: Asian: Japanese (581)

An unusual decorative wooden sword (tea room sword) carved of hardwood in the shape of a dried fish signed on the belly pierced and wrapped with a faded silk chord. An excellent example of the genre it is 13-1/2 inches (34 cm) long and in fine condition.
It is said that these wooden swords were produced from the mid to late Edo period, in lieu of swords for those not allowed to carry weapons (all but samurai). During the Edo it is true that commoners wore them to ward off evildoers at night, generally heavier versions which would double as a truncheon, and later as statements of fashion akin to other sagemono. We have found however that their production lasted through the opening years of the 20th century, as long accustomed ornaments of fashion in the tea room (where even samurai were not allowed bladed weapons). To the repertoire of bokuto and doctors sword, we thus add the name Chato, or tea sword, as they were commonly referred to in Kyoto. As with other members of the sagemono group, they were most often made by carvers of Netsuke.

A breathtaking pair of 19th century (Meiji period) sake cups decorated with hawks stored in silk pouches and enclosed in a red lacquered period wood box. In the basin two hawks, one perched in a pine accented with inlayed mother of pearl, the other soaring high overhead, are depicted in minute detail in raised gold designs. Opposite waves crash over rocks speckled with solid gold lichen. The cups are 10.5 cm (4-1/4 inches) diameter and in excellent condition.

A fabulous large Mingei Tokkuri from the Satsuma region in the shape of an eggplant, glazed in black with crystalline blue about the neck over iron rich glazed clay. Likely from the Hirasa kilns, one of the great Satsuma production centers on the southern Island of Kyushu, 18th to early 19th century. It is 24 cm (10 inches) tall and in overall excellent condition, enclosed in a kiri-wood collectors’ box.
The history of Satsuma ware goes back to the 16th century when Japan fought in the Imjin War, ( also known as the Porcelain War), in which Yoshihiro Shimazu, Lord of the Satsuma domain, brought back eighty Korean potters, giving birth to a new ceramic tradition on Japanese soil. There are four main historical lines of Satsuma ware: Tateno, Ryumonji, Naeshirogawa, Hirasa. They are roughly separated into white wares, black wares and porcelains. Kuro Satsuma (black ware) is made by using combinations of black or brown colored glaze. The body itself is dark brown since the clay contains iron from the local soil enriched by the volcanic ash of Sakurajima.

Spiraling lines and wispy trees rise up to the heavens in this convoluted landscape by Fujimoto Tesseki dated 1855. If one looks carefully, it is fun to see the artists playful choices of colors, not apparent at first, like the blue trunk on the central tree at the base of the painting. Dramatic and colorful landscape Ink and light color on silk, the scene is enveloped in a patterned white satin border with white piping in the Mincho style popular in the 19th century, and features absolutely massive rosewood rollers. The scroll is 21-3/4 x 78 inches (55.5 x 198 cm) and is in overall fine, original condition. The box is titled Keishi Giken no Hito Fujimoto Tesseki Okina Chakushoku Sansui (Colored Landscape by Noble Hero of the Old Capitol the Elder Fujimoto Tesseki) and is signed within Kozan.
Fujimoto Tesseki (1817-1863) was a samurai literatus from Okayama skilled in Martial arts as well as philosophy and Chinese History. A loyalist, he was killed in battle during the years leading up to the Meiji Restoration. A well known painter in the Nanga style, he left a small body of works for the world to remember him by. He was posthumously awarded by the Meiji government for his part in the restoration of the Emperor in 1892. He is held in the British Museum and Tokyo National Museum among others. Enclosed is a registry paper of the Mori family of Kyoto from whose collection this scroll came.

A very unusual Toyoraku Usubata vase covered outside in black lacquer decorated with geometric gold maki-e designs, the inside nearly swamped by organic green flowing to the center. It comes enclosed in the original somewhat dilapidated wooden box signed: The 75 year old man Toyosuke. This appears to be the signature of the third generation, and so would date from 1854, only a few years prior to the death of the fourth generation who began the technique of lacquering pots. It is 25.5 cm (10 inches) diameter at the top, and stands21 cm (8-1/4 inches) tall, in overall excellent condition. Lacquer has been re-applied to the foot ring and there is a small loss in the bulbous center of the vase.
The Toyoraku tradition began in the mid 1700s, however it was the fourth generation head of the household (Toyosuke IV 1813~1858) who moved the kiln to Kamimaezu in Nagoya and began applying lacquer and Maki-e to the works. He was succeeded by his son, Toyosuke V (d. 1885) who passed the kiln to his own son Toyosuke VI, (d. 1917), who was highly lauded in his lifetime and made pottery on order of the Meiji emperor, his pieces being selected for international exhibition. The family lineage ended in the Taisho period.

A most exciting find, a scroll by five of the greatest scholar-painters of the Meiji period, Tanomura Chokunyu, Suzuki Hyakunen, Tomioka Tessai, Nyoi Sanjin and Yamanaka Shinten-o; all of whom resided in Kyoto during the Meiji period. Ink on paper in a brown cloth border befitting the Daoist figures. It comes in an annotated by by Tessai from 1911. The scroll is 29-1/4 x 75-1/2 inches (74 x 192 cm) and is in excellent condition.
Nyoi Sanjin (Tani Tetsuomi, 1822-1905) was born the son of a Doctor serving the powerful Ii clan of the Hikone fief on the Tokaido road between Kyoto and Tokyo. Trained as a samurai and a doctor (including Western medicine in Nagasaki), he sided with the imperialist cause during the troubled times of the 1850s and 60s while working as a Doctor in Hikone. He served in governmental posts after the restoration of the Emperor in 1867, retiring to Kyoto in the 1880s.
Suzuki Hyakunen (1825-1891) was born in Kyoto and studied under Yokoyama Kakei. He served as a professor at the Kyoto Prefectural School of Painting (modern University of Art) and thus mentor to many young artists of his day, including his own son Suzuki Shonen. Works by him are held in the V&A, Ashmolean, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Philadelphia Museum of Art, University of Michigan as well as a host of Domestic institutions.
Tanomura Chokunyu (1814-1907) was born in Oita (the Oka Feif) and studied initially under Okamoto Baisetsu before moving to paint under the famous literatus Tanomura Chikuden (1777-1835), who adopted him as a son and had a very strong influence on the young artist. Upon Chikudens death he also studied briefly under Oshio Chusai (1792-1837) then finally ventured out on his own upon that teachers passing. He moved to Kyoto, where he helped found the Kyoto Municipal School of painting and eventually withdrew from the world, becoming an Obaku Zen Monk in 1902.
Tomioka Tessai (1837-1924)was a scholar artist trained from age seven in the traditional Confucian manner. After the death of his father he was apprenticed to a Shinto shrine, and later was forced to escape the capitol to Kyushu to avoid arrest for anti-governmental actions he had taken on part of the Imperial cause. Here he began serious study of Literati painting and furthered his scholarly research. Upon returning to Kyoto he was befriended by and moved to work under Otagaki Rengetsu, from whom he was heavily influenced. He helped to establish the Nihon Nanga-In and held a number of important positions, culminating in being appointed the official painter of the Emperor and a member of the Imperial Art Academy; the highest honor in Japanese Art circles. He is represented in innumerable important collections. Information on this important person is readily available, for more see Scholar Painters of Japan by Cahill (1972), Roberts Dictionary, or a quick internet search will find plenty of reading. He is held in the Tokyo National Museum, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Kyoto, V&A etc…
Yamanaka Shinten-o (Seittsu 1822-1885) was born near Nagoya in the village of Higashiura, the second son of a wealthy farming family. After studying in Osaka with scholar Shinozaki Shochiku (1781-1851), he moved after to Kyoto where he became a member of the anti-governmental movement supporting restoration f the Emperor. Following the repression of 1858 when many opposition figures were arrested and executed, Shinten’o went to Ise and studied with Saito Setsudo (1791-1865) for three years before returning to Kyoto. He was an active supporter of imperial loyalists, providing food and money to the troops fighting to establish the new regime. In recognition of his support he was appointed to a series of governmental posts. In 1873 he quit the world of politics to begin a quiet life of scholarly pursuits in the Shimogamo area of Kyoto and established a sprawling villa in Arashiyama so well regarded was that the Meiji Emperor stayed there during his 1877 visit to Kyoto.

A double sided accordion album bound in iridescent cloth from the Meiji period containing 57 total pages covered in ancient cloth samples. 18th -19th centuries. The album is 19 x 24 cm (7-1/2 x 10 inches). Generally in good condition but the covers have some wear and damage

A whimsical tiger exhales incense smoke, his body glimmering with gold on black ripples; an antique oki-koro incense burner enclosed in the original Kikko signed wooden box. The tiger bears the Kikko mark on his butt. The piece is 15 x 10 x 13 cm (6 x 4 x 5 inches) and is in excellent condition. The Kikko Kiln was established in Osaka in the opening years of the 19th century by Iyo native Toda Jihe, who had learned the ceramic arts in Kyoto under all of the great names of the time, Kiyomizu Rokubei I, Ryonyu the 9th generation head of the Raku family, and Ninnami Dohachi among others. He would be known as Jusanken Shogetsu. After being noticed by then Daimyo of Osaka area Mizuno Tadakuni, he received the kiln name Kikko. His works were distributed as gifts among the Daimyo, and he was called to work in many fiefs creating “Niwa Yaki” kilns throughout Japan. During the Meiji the kiln would be split into two continuing lineages, one using Jusanken stamp, the other Kikko Shogetsu.

A Boro cover textile of sewn together bits of worn out Asa (Hemp) fabrics resist died with various patterns. 146 X 163 cm (57-1/2 x 64 inches).

An Edo period suit of raw iron with all matching parts, featuring 16 plate helmet with two lame shikoro and large fukigaeshi. The mask is fantastic, a real stunner with dramatic features and a large mustache. It has five plate sode and a go-mai-do cuirass of five iron plates, with kusazuri of leather scales. The sangu are all matching, very nice on dark silk tightly woven iron scales, with a crest in brass on the back of the hands. The original Maedate is in the form of a box and would likely have once held a charm for protection inside, perhaps a copy of the lotus sutra. A fine and unique armo dating from the mid to later Edo. The only damage of note is a general loss of lacquer on the leather kusazuri scales. It comes in the wooden box pictured. Stand and shipping are not included in the list price.

A fine wakizashi in saya of crushed aogai shell in lacquer with engraved silver fittings adorned with a family crest wrapped with matching Kozuka. Kyoto license number 59007 Heisei 9.
blade length: 38.9 cm
sori:0.7 cm
motohaba:2.4 cm
motokasane: 0.6 cm It is in excellent condition.

A variety of saya lacquer-style samples enclosed in a set of stacking boxes titled Nuri-Hon. Thirty samples covering inlays, various techniques such as nejiri, powdered shell, byakudan, wakasa, and tsugaru techniques. Each sample is roughly 3-1/2 inches (9 cm) lng, the boxes 7-1/2 x 4 x 1 inches (19 x 10 x 2 cm). Very rare and overall in fine condition, dating from the later Edo. This is from a collection of scholar items we are currently offering from the estate of a Kyoto family involved in literati and art movements from the later Edo period on.

A Tokkuri decorated with an Otsu-e image of a sword bearer and a poem by Otagaki Rengetsu enclosed in a wooden box annotated by the head of Jinkoin Temple and titled Rengetsu-ni saku, Otsu-e Tokkuri, The poem reads:
Furi tate shi As if raising and lowering
mameshi gokoro no his true heart like a standard
hitosuji ni in one line
koyuru ka imo ni will he pass through to meet his love
Osaka no seki. beyond Osaka Gate?
This may be an especially poignant piece for a woman who lost so much love in her lifetime. It is 4-/12 inches (11.7 cm) tall. There is a tiny lacquer repair to the rim.
Much has been written about the life and work of poet/artist Otagaki Rengetsu. Born into a samurai family, she was adopted into the Otagaki family soon after birth, and served as a lady in waiting in Kameoka Castle in her formative years, where she received an education worthy of a Lady of means. Reputed to be incredibly beautiful, she was married and bore three children; however her husband and all children died before she was twenty. Remarried she bore another daughter, however that child too perished and her husband died while she was just 32. Inconsolable, she cut off her hair to join the nunnery at Chion-in Temple, where she renounced the world and received the name Rengetsu (Lotus Moon). However this was not the end, but only the beginning of a career as artist and poet which would propel her to the top of the 19th century Japan literati art world.

A dry ink on paper image of mushrooms growing up along a garden stone dated 1874 by Tani Nyoi (1822-1905). The scene is signed Nyoisanjin, and dated the second month of 1874 hemmed in by origami cranes on cream satin in a field of rough pale green silk and features dark rosewood rollers. The style is very much in the literati tradition predominant during the early Meiji. The dry vigorous strokes evoke a sense of fleeting solidity, as if wind were about to blow the light paper away. And certainly it must have felt that way for a scholar/artist born in the late Edo who had experienced the unrest and upheaval of the Meiji restoration and ensuing battles, and the sudden influx of technology from the West. The artist Tani Ryutaro also went by the name Tani Tetsujin, Hyakuren and Taiko. He was a ranking figure from the Ii fief of Hikone, but studied philosophy and the scholar arts throughout Japan. In 1870 he was involved in problems of state but was promoted the following year, and later appointed the rank of minister of the left, finaly receiving appointment of Seigo-I by imperial decree. He left his post in 1874, for a period of reflection during which time he lived a quite life in Kyoto. It was during this period he was called Nyoisanjin, and it is from the first year of this period that this scroll hails. It measures 33-3/4 x 48-1/2 inches (85.5 x 123.5 cm) and is in fine condition. There is no box however we could have one made if desired.

Antique Japanese Mingei Flat Pounding Board An exquisite patina covers this heavy pounding board from Northern Japan used for working rice into dough. It is 53.5 x 31 x 9 cm (21 x 12 x 3-1/2 inches) and is in excellent condition.

Green or Blue, which will win this contest? Two shishi lions vie for our attention on this absolutely fabulous pair of 19th century screens. The images are performed with pigment on applied silver, not an easy medium from the start. One creature pounces, mouth open, teeth barred while the other crouches, mouth shut, ready to leap. Peony, a flower typically associated with the creatures, grows about them. Each screen is 68 x 137 inches (173 x 348 cm). They have been fully remounted at some time in the near past (latter 20th century, 1970-80s?) and are in fine condition. Some repairs were affected at that time. A most impressive set of images, incredibly rare. Open and Closed Mouths of Guardians: Japanese Shishi (Shisa in Okinawa) Fu-dogs or Pinyin in China, Inari (fox guardians in front of shrines) as well as the Buddhist Niomon images are almost always depicted one with mouth open (Agyo) the other mouth closed (Ungyo). As a pair, they complement each other. One represents latent power, mouth held tightly closed in wait, while the other represents overt power, baring his teeth in action. The most common explanation of this imagery is the open mouth figure (feminine in Japan) scares away evil with its cry, while the closed mouth figure (masculine) keeps inside fortune and good spirits. Most Japanese adaptations state that the male is inhaling, representing life, while the female exhales, representing death.

A museum quality work by 19th century great Oda Kaisen featuring vines burgeoning with ripe fruit under the epitaph “Painted on a muggy date (possibly “by moonlight” as the term keigetsu refers) in 1840”. Ink on silk in brass colored Satin patterned with tendrils of mist and featuring white piping in the Mincho style and ivory rollers typical of literati painting of the 19th century. It is 18-3/4 x 72-3/4 inches (47.5 x 184.5 cm) and is in excellent condition.
Oda Kaisen (1785-1862) was born into a family of in the textile industry in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi on the extreme western end of Honshu, the Japanese main island. He went to the cultural capitol of Kyoto in 1806, where he was initially trained in the Shijo style of painting under Matsumura Goshun (1752–1811). After Goshun died, he moved to study nanga literati painting with Rai San'yō (1780–1832) and through extensive study of treasured Chinese paintings in various collections. It is during this period he began using the name on this scroll, O-in. He worked as a compatriot of the great masters Uragami Shinkin and Tanomura Chikuden. Work by this artist is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art New York, Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the British Museum, Ashmolean, and in Japan the Osaka Municipal Art Museum and Chofu museum among others.

A mellon shaped red-Raku Kogo incense case enclosed in the original signed wooden box by Raku Ryonyu (1756–1834), 9th generation head of the Raku family. It is roughly 2 inches (5 cm) tall and in excellent condition.