Japanese Gin kanzashi metal hair ornament; the two pronged gilt pin with applied large natural red coral, silver and silver gilt plum blossoms with coral beads 7 1/8"
Japanese Kanzashi hairpin, lacquer on hand carved wood. Dadaiko (large drum used in court music) and maku (outside cloth fense) under the maple trees are pictorial subjects based on The Tale of Genji, Chapter 7, entitled ‘Momiji no Ga’, translated as ‘An Autumn Excursion’. There is a famous scene frequently illustrated from this chapter where Genji dances ‘Waves of the Blue Ocean’ (Sei Kai Ha) with a maple branch on his crown. Here, without the presense of Genji, you are inside of the Imper ...click for details
Antique Japanese inro, makie designs of phoenix (ho-o bird) on black lacquer. These large inro are sometimes referred to as sumo wrestler's inro, written "Kahei nuri". The last letter (kao like) is probably "nuri" which means painted or coated with. To roughly quote the Wrangham Index of Inro Artists – according to Soken Kisho, Kahei was a mysterious makie artist that lived in Kyoto during the 18th century. He was prominent enough to have his work called Kahei–nuri ...click for details
Antique Japanese netsuke, a sagemono; a legendary figure of Chokwaro and his horse. Chokwaro is said to have lived in China at the end of the 7th century when he traveled through China on his horse which carried him thousands of miles without food or drink. The horse was kept in a gourd when not required by Chokwaro. To revive the animal, Chokwaro simply wet the end of the shrivelled gourd and the magic beast came to life. The netsuke is made from stained ivory and dates to 19th century. 3 1/8 ...click for details
Antique Japanese hair ornaments, Gin(Silver) Kanzashi with bira-bira danglings. This is an unusually large and heavy Kanzashi probably worn by Geisha. It was made for a very special occasion when a particularly elaborate hair style was needed. The ornaments are all made with silver and the bodies are plated on mixed metals. 16 petals chrysanthemum heads. This one is definitely for Kanzashi collector. Shorter one is tarnished more than the other ...click for details
ABOUT HAKATA AND HAKATA NINGYO (DOLLS): Hakata is located closest to Korea and China from Japan on the north-west tip of Kyushu southern island. The Hakata Bay area was the gateway to and from the western world for the earliest time. Trading and culture exchange through the Hakata Bay benefited the area (Hakata was the wealthiest city in Japan once), but the town also faced the serious attempts of the invasion from the outside. Two Mongol invasions lead by Kablai Khan (grandson of Genghis Kh ...click for details
A woven antique Japanese men's wallet decorated with
geometric design created with brocaded silk ribbon.
Inside, hand stitched with Sashiko stitches on silk.
The shakudo clasp is tomo-e shaped and inlaid with
copper and silver. Silvered metal (brass?) netsuke in
the shape of a tongue cut sparrow attached with three
colored metal chain. Circa, early 1900s (Taisho period). Dimensions: 5 1/4" x 3 1/8"
Beautiful aizome (Japanese indigo dye ) cotton cloth decorated with auspicious motives of crane, turtle and sho-chiku-bai (pine, bamboo, plum blossoms) in katazome (stencil dye). You may be still wondering where the bamboo is in this design. It's here as scrolling bamboo canes, instead of the regular design of scrolling vines. Three rolls of 13.5" (width) x 130" (length) thick cotton are partially hand sewn together. The condition is excellent condition with little color los ...click for details
Antique Japanese tsutsugaki futon bed cover drawn with the paste resist technique (tsutsugaki) with Japanese indigo blue dye, "ai" (aizome). Meiji Period(1868-1912). This is a beautiful work of art with soft shades of blue which developed with the natural ai dye (aizome). Hand-spun and hand-woven. One repair (shown in the photos) but no holes (we could have missed small ones). Old cotton stuffing (some with small round shapes) is still attached on the back side of cloth. Dimensions ...click for details
Japanese antique Zuishin wooden figures (dolls) probably from early 1900s. Zuishin (zuijin) are commonly called Daijin (the Minister of the right and the left) but they are figures of the Toneri, the imperial guardsmen and escorts from the Heian period (794-1185). Later in the Kamakura period, they became the guardians of the Shinto shrines standing at the gate. The bows are new addition.
