A collection of fine Japanese antiques
The woodblock prints I own are primarily by Utagawa school artists Kuniyoshi, Kunisada (Toyokuni III), or their students. Because the story behind a print adds layers of enjoyment to the viewing experience and appreciation, I have included the associated stories for the print or series (where possible).
The intention of this site is not just about selling prints, it’s about the fascinating often mythical background stories, my research/musings, and hopefully information you find interesting. But of course, feel free to just look at the pics!
The antique Japanese swords (nihonto) on this site are for sale or for gallery purposes. The catalogue of swords that are for sale will be clearly marked with a price (USD). The swords that are not for sale will be clearly marked as Gallery only.
I am not a dealer in swords but a student on a long journey of study, conservation and appreciation. I’m also open to putting up blades on consignment if interested.
Tosogu (fittings)
This is where you’ll find my Tsuba, Kozuka, and Koshirae, many are/will be for sale. I have only ever collected fittings that appealed to me from a craftsmanship and aesthetic perspective. I have never leaned into the nuanced study of the iron sukashi tsuba though I greatly respect those that do. I tend to lean towards the later Edo period mixed metal or soft metal kinko style tsuba and fittings.
Study and research, study and research .. these are the books I use, occasionally they will come up for sale. I have a cover pic and have leveraged descriptions off the internet or contributed my own.
Of course sometimes we just want to look at stuff that we can never afford or find, so I have included a drool rating – this will give you an idea of the visual richness of the book. For example those that are primarily for research, will have a low rating, those that provide a variety of beautiful colour imagery will get the high ratings, and will scale accordingly.
This landing page will link to all my research regarding nihonto and prints. I have not delved into tosogu or armour as deeply as I thought I might in my earlier days; it all came down to a balance of time vs reward. This will be an ongoing ‘work in progress’ page.