Catalog: Archives: Regional Art: Asian (643)

A pair of rare Koto-yaki sake flasks decorated with florals and dating from the 19th century. Written on the side is the kiln name Koto (East Lake). Each piece is roughly 6 inches (15 cm) tall and in fine condition but for a chip on the inside of the foot ring of one.
Koto ware is one of those rare and highly prized ceramics of low production, once the official kiln of the Ii clan in Hikone on the Eastern Shores of Lake Biwa, its production rand from the early to late 19th century. Under Ii Naosuke, the famous Bakumatsu Statesman, the kiln was expanded both in size and repertoire, and he brought in potters from all over Japan to teach the ways of various styles. With the assassination of Naosuke and the fall of the Shogunate in 1867 the kiln was privatized. It closed about 1895, and was known for superb quality and craftsmanship covering Sometsuke, Aka-e,Kinsai, Celadon and Ninsei.

A long “Hengaku” framed painting meant to sit above the transom by Yoshimura Horyu featuring monkeys riding on the back of a deer. One has fallen and is being dragged along like a water-skier by vines tangled in the deers horns. A very humorous scene by this rare Osaka artist. Pigment and ink on silk mounted on gold with a carved rosewood frame. The frame is 154.5 x 50 cm (61 x 20 inches) and is in fine condition, with toning to the silk typical of age.
Yoshimura Horyu (1874-1936) was born in Osaka and studied under Mori Niho (1818-1891), excelling at paintings of animals in the Shijo style of observation from life. Due to size the cost of shipping will be accrued separately.

A celadon vase inlayed with Chrysanthemum designs by Teishitsu Gigei-In Suwa Sozan I enclosed in the original signed wooden box featuring the Imperial Art Academy Seal and titled Kiku-Zogan Hana-Ire. Tendrils of blossoming chrysanthemum climb up the sides in dark inlay on the slightly pitted celadon sueface, a perfect rendition of Korean style wares from an earlier era with the addition of the Japanese design motif. It is 10-1/4 inches (26 cm) tall and in excellent condition. Artists mark on base.
The box notes this as having come from “Rai-gamaâ€, a Korean style or perhaps Korean Kiln. It is possible that Sozan fired this on a study trip to Korea, as I have never seen another box bearing this kiln dedication. An extremely rare work certainly worthy of a museum collection.
Sozan I (1852-1922) was born in Kutani country, present day Ishikawa prefecture, where he initially studied before moving to Tokyo in 1875. Over the next 25 years he would gravitate between Tokyo and Kanazawa, working at various kilns and research facilities. He again relocated, this time to Kyoto in 1900 to manage the Kinkozan Studio before establishing his own. His name became synonymous with celadon and refined porcelain and was one of only five potters to be named Teishitsu Gigei-in. The Teishitsu Gigei-in were members of the Imperial Art Academy, Perhaps in modern terms one might call them the predecessors to the Living National Treasures. However unlike the LNT, there were only five Pottery artists ever named Teishitsu Gigei-in, Ito Tozan, Suwa Sozan, Itaya Hazan, Miyagawa Kozan, and Seifu Yohei III. He was succeeded by his adopted daughter upon his death. He is held in the Kyoto National Museum among many others.

An oil on canvas by Ono Sue titled “Inaka no Kyokai, Paris” or Rustic Church in Paris set into a double wood frame. The canvas is 15-1/2 x 18 inches (40 x 45 cm), the frame 24 x 27 inches (61 x 69 cm) and all is in excellent condition.
Ono Sue (1910-1985) was born in Niigata prefecture, and after serving as a school teacher for one year, moved to Kyoto in 1934 to pursue a career in oil painting under Yasui Sotaro. He began exhibiting with the Issuikai in 1938, garnering a number of awards there over the next 15 years starting with the Issui-kai Prize in 1943. In 1955 he would go on the first of his travels, returning in 1958, and in 1959 he would help to found the Kokusai Gushoha Kyokai. The next year would find him abroad again for an extended journey. He travelled extensively, documenting his travels in oil and canvas, Egypt, Mexico, Europe, South East Asia, all of these would become subjects for his method. In 1963 he returned to Japan. He was purchased by the Imperial Household Agency that same year. He would be honored with several exhibitions in major Japanese museums, including the Tokyo Central Museum, Umeda Museum of Modern Art, and his home of Niigata with the Niigata Art Museum. In 1982 he would receive the Geijutsu Sensho Award for the arts from the Minister of Cultural Affairs. Work by him is held in the Museum of Modern Art in Niigata, Museum of Modern Art in Toyama, Okawa Museum, Sakuma Municipal Museum of Modern Art and Kita-Kyushu Municipal Museum of Art among others.

A woven silver hoya caps the smoky white glaze of this Momoyama period (early 17th century) Shino Koro incense burner wrapped in antique imported ikat and enclosed in a kiri-wood box. It is roughly 8 x 8 x 9 cm (3 x 3 x 3-1/2 inches). The rim has been ground to smoothly accept the silver lid, and it is in excellent condition.

A pair of root-wood geese carvings 10 x 4 x 3 inches (24 x 10 x 9 cm) and 6 x 3 x 8 inches (14 x 6.5 x 20 cm) respectively. There are some minor losses around where the feet are attached to the natural form polished wood bodies, otherwise are in fine condition.

A Nandina (Jap.Nanten) grows up in brilliant red hues over a dark garden stone on thie black panels of this unique painting by Ono Tosaburo. Heavy pigment on paper mounted as a two panel screen with light cloth border and hardwood frame. This was exhibited at the 12th Nitten in 1956, and is visible in the catalog for that year. It is 85 x 74 inches (188 x 216 cm) open. Ono Tosaburo was born in Osaka in 1917 and studied under Konoshima Keika, The war interrupted his career, and he was first accepted into the Nitten in 1947. He is fondly remembered for paintings of fish in his unique Nihonga style. For more see the book Ono Tosaburo Gashu (1988).

An exquisite landscape circles the body of this voluminous ballister form by Eiraku Zengoro XV (Shozen) enclosed in the original signed wooden box. It is 15 inches (38 cm) tall, 7-1/2 inches (19 cm) diameter and in excellent condition.
Eiraku Shozen (1879-1932) was the backbone of the family tradition after the passing of his father in 1909, and worked tirelessly to maintain the family reputation. His works were preferred by the 12th generation head of Omote Senkei Seisai, and were also a favorite for use by the Prince Sadaaki of the imperial family in the Omiya Gosho palace.

Sennin, Daoist immortals, relax, Gamma with his three legged toad looking shocked upon his shoulder, Tekkai sending his spirit forth, the essential equipment of the Daoist life scattered about them. The painting is dated 1912 and signed Kodo. The artist has chosen a very humorous stance from which to depict his subjects. The silk image is mounted on a panel of applied gold flake and framed in striped Ebony,. The frame is 142 x 48 cm (58 x 19 inches). There are some minor abrasions to the surrounding gold paper. As the traditional Japanese home was made with earthen walls, which could not support weight, hengaku frames of this manner were made to be suspended from the edge of the ceiling, and supported over the transom (Kamui) which ran the entire way around a traditional Japanese room at door height.
According to the MIA, The Daoist immortals, Gama Sennin (Chin. Liu Hai) and Tekkai Sennin (Chin. Li Tieguai) “were often paired in Japanese and Chinese art because of their corresponding supernatural powers. Depicted on the right is Gama Sennin, known literally as the ‘toad hermit,’ a character based on the historical civil servant and alchemist Liu Hai of 10th century China. Various accounts associate Gama with a large, three-legged toad by which he can be identified. Gama was thought to be able to release his spirit from his body, metamorphose, and fly with the aid of his magical companion. Tekkai Sennin is the Japanese adaptation of one of the Eight Immortals (Baxian), an assemblage of Daoist and/or folk deities. He was thought to be capable of leaving his body, sometimes traveling for extended periods. On one occasion, he asked a disciple to watch over his body and instructed him to burn it if his spirit did not return in seven days. On the sixth day, however, the disciple’s mother died, so he burned his master’s body and went home. Returning on the seventh day, Tekkai’s spirit found his body gone, leaving him no choice but to adopt the corpse of an emaciated beggar that he found beside the road. Like Gama Sennin, he is associated with medicine, and is traditionally represented with a gourd that signifies his ability to transcend the body and to offer healing.”
Due to size the cost of shipping will be accrued separately.

The character “Hiraku” Open (or to Open) in bold scratchy strokes by the infamous nun Murase Myodo. Open you mind, open the path to enlightenment, the path is open to all, but like this calligraphy work is not easy, it is dry and thorny and the gate must be passed. Ink on paper in a silk border with wood rollers. It is 24-1/2 x 48-1/2 inches (62 x 123.5 cm) and is in excellent condition.
Born in 1924 in Aichi, one of 9 children, a chance encounter with a nun in her village led her from the age of six pleading to join the sisterhood. Her parents finally relented, allowing her to enter Kogenji Temple in Kyoto at the age of 9. An adept student and writer, Myodo lost her arm and use of her right leg in a traffic accident in 1963. This is written with her left hand (she was right handed). She served as the head of Gesshinji Temple in Otsu, and is as famous for her fiery yet virtuous nature as she is for her Shojin-ryori Zen Kitchen, and her life served as a model for an Asahi morning Television series. She is without a doubt one of the most vivacious and wry characters I have ever personally met. Well known within Japan, her works are so rare they are almost impossible to find. The world will know her loss as she passed away in 2014.

A Fine bronze by the modern master of the Japanese bronze tradition, world renowned Hasuda Shugoro, enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The modern form is belted in geometric patterns with a mottled olive and red patination, signed on the base Shu. It is 6 x 7 x 9-1/2 inches (17 x 15.5 x 23.5 cm) and weighs approximately 5.5 kg (12 lbs) in excellent condition.
Hasuda Shugoro was born in Kanazawa City in 1915. After graduating the Ishikawa Prefectural Industrial School he moved to the Tokyo School of Art. Much lauded his first award was at the 5th Nitten in 1949 and he received the Hokuto-sho there in 1953 among many further prizes. He participated in the founding of the Creative Crafts Association in 1961 and founded the Japan Metal Sculpture Institute in 1976. Decorated with the Order of Cultural Merit in 1991, Hasuda Shugoro stands as one of the leading modernist artists working in bronze during the Post-War Period. A vase by the artist sold at Christies in 2012 for 2,500 pounds (roughly 4,000 dollars). For more on this artist see Hasuda Shugoro Kinzoku Zokei (1981).

Pines in the Rimpa style grow on the folded surface of this fan painted by Kamisaka Sekka and enclosed in the original signed wooden box, retaining the original paper binding on the fan itself. It is 12 inches (30 cm) long folded, and in excellent condition.
Kamisaka Sekka (1866-1942) is the godfather of 20th century Japanese design and the Rimpa revival. He was born in Kyoto in 1866, one of six siblings. From 1882 he began his artistic career, however did not take-off until visiting the Paris Expo in 1901, where he was exposed to Art Nouveau and Western industrial design concepts. He was adept as a painter and designer in an assortment of other media, working with various artisans to bring to life his ideas. He was employed as a teacher at the Kyoto Municipal School of Art (future University of Fine Art as I have abbreviated in the above description), and was widely exhibited and prized throughout his career, which ended in retirement in 1938.

An exquisite Japanese koro incense burner carved from a piece of plum blossom colored agate and enclosed in a period wooden box. It is 3-1/2 x 5 x 4-1/2 inches (9 x 12.5 x 11.5 cm) and is in excellent condition, dating from the early 20th century.

A striking design rises up the pin-holed surface of this set of Tokkuri with genuine gold repairs about the rim dating from the late 18th to 19th century and enclosed in a period wooden box. They are 2 inches (5 cm) diameter, 6-1/2 inches (16.5 cm) tall.

Exceptional Edo p. Japanese Screen, Demon War An exceedingly rare set of four dramatic paintings divided into segments depicting a variety of battle scenes and supernatural phenomena, each heavy pigment on paper canvas mounted on one of four panels of a gold screen bordered in mulberry. The scenes appear to comprise a fragment of the tale of Daikozan (Oeyama), a Kyoto tale where in a powerful demon was lured to drink, then cut to pieces in his stupor. The screen itself is 20th century; however the paintings would date from the mid Edo. On the far right sword bearing men, priests and women run from monsters with giant heads while a cloud roiling with demonic figures bears down on the scene. A tanuki with the head of a woman can also be found here. Below women perform dance on the balcony of a palace for a long nosed tengu attracting a crowd of onlookers. The second panel is divided into four scenes of women reading a hand scroll to the same tengu from the first panel hidden behind a bamboo fence. Below we see him again seated outside a room awaiting audience with divine figures. Below this he is throttling a sword bearing soldier, a ghostly lute player on the left, and a raucous battle on the steps. On panel three the battle rages. Men hack away at each other while a head is presented indoors, and a man and demon appear ready to draw swords over the decapitated corpse. Below gory warfare rages, samurai and demon fighting indiscriminately. In the last scene a flock of birds attack one fellow, while heads topple hither and yon. The paintings were likely originally part of a larger screen, which have been cut down over time from re-mounting. The fantastic screen measures 107 inches by five feet (272 x 153 cm). There is some loss of paint; and the paintings, due to great age, are somewhat delicate.

A set of five sencha steeped tea tea cups by the first Suwa Sozan decorated with three seasonal or auspidcious fruits and a poem by famed literatus Tomioka Tessai enclosed in the original signed wooden box. Each cup is 2-1/4 x 2 inches (5.7 x 5 cm) and is in fine condition.
Sozan I (1852-1922) was born in Kutani country, present day Ishikawa prefecture, where he initially studied before moving to Tokyo in 1875. Over the next 25 years he would gravitate between Tokyo and Kanazawa, working at various kilns and research facilities. He again relocated, this time to Kyoto in 1900 to manage the Kinkozan Studio before establishing his own. His name became synonymous with celadon and refined porcelain and was one of only five potters to be named Teishitsu Gigei-in. The Teishitsu Gigei-in were members of the Imperial Art Academy, Perhaps in modern terms one might call them the predecessors to the Living National Treasures. However unlike the LNT, there were only five Pottery artists ever named Teishitsu Gigei-in, Ito Tozan, Suwa Sozan, Itaya Hazan, Miyagawa Kozan, and Seifu Yohei III. He was succeeded by his adopted daughter upon his death. He is held in the Kyoto National Museum among many others.
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…

A fetching scene of colored washes very　much in　the Taisho style by important artist Ono (Ohno) Bakufu. Pigment on silk in superb Kinrande mounting. It is roughly 21-1/2 x 79 inches (56 x 200 cm).
Born in Tokyo Ono Bakufu (1888-1976) relocated to central Japan after the great Kanto earthquake of 1923 where he became an honorary member of the Hyogo Prefectural Academy of Fine Arts. Often displayed at the Teiten National Exhibition, he is best known for paintings of fish, which were serialized in 72 woodblock prints from 1937-1942 (Dai Nihon gyorui gashu).

Starting with the famous verse by Chinese Scholar YoYu (AD 53-18) ”The written character is a picture of the heart” (Sho kokoro Ga nari) here are written 42 rules of calligraphy spread over 10 narrow panels by the famous calligraphist Ide Gakei dated 1677. The verses appear to have been written in one sitting, the style going from crisp perfect Kaisho characters through Gyosho stylized characters and into the elegantly running Grass script (Sosho). The way the artist allows his hand to flow ever more freely with each line is captivating when taking in the whole, and creates a dynamic not often found. The calligraphy work is mounted on ten gold panels bordered in black lacquer. The screen is 150 x 19-1/2 inches (382 x 49.5 cm).
The rules of writing reflect the scholar ideas which came from Ming China and the humble nature of the Japanese Tea Ceremony (Sado, the way of tea). A great writer must be a small man, the written hand is a window to the soul, The heart must be right or the verse will not flow etc.
Ide Gakei (b. 1644) was a well known and published calligraphist studied under Sasaki Shizuma and Uchida Teshu. He lived his early life serving the powerful Kaga fief, where his calligraphy became known throughout Japan. He later moved to Kyoto where he passed on his unique style to Suzuki Shosui. Gakei was also known as, Shosui and or another Shosui using alternate characters. Several of his original published books, including Zoku Senjimon and Sosho Enkai, are held in the Waseda University Library