Edo furniture was created during a flourishing time for the decorative arts owing to the stability of the Tokugawa shogunate rule in Japan. Spanning from 1603 to 1867, this era of peace and economic growth supported artistic advancements in lacquer, woodblock printing, porcelain and other artisanal trades. Because the country was largely isolated, there was little outside influence, leading to centuries of exceptional attention to the design of its furnishings and the quality of its traditional arts.
Unlike during the Meiji period that followed, with an increase in domestic and international markets, furniture during the Edo period was predominately commissioned by the ruling class, although people from across social groups benefited from the burgeoning metropolitan hubs for artisanal trades. For instance, Kyoto became a major center for lacquer art. Most furniture pieces were made from wood such as cedar or ash, including the era’s sashimono cabinets, which involved fine joinery and were rooted in the Heian period.
Sashimono cabinets, which were built by master craftsmen in a range of different wood types owing to the various trees that populate Japan, occasionally featured a stack of slender drawers as well as sliding doors. They were popular with everyone from samurai to kabuki actors. Tansu storage chests crafted from wood with metal fittings were also common in Edo-period homes. Some were designed to be easily portable while others were made to double as staircases.
Painted folding screens, called byōbu, were also fashionable, with Japanese artists inspired by nature, literature and scenes of history and daily life to create vivid works. In Buddhist temples and the palatial homes of the aristocratic class, fusuma, or large sliding panels, would sometimes be adorned with gold or silver leaf. These dividers allowed interiors to change throughout the day, closing in small spaces for personal use or reflecting candlelight to illuminate communal spaces after dark.
Find a collection of Edo tables, lighting, decorative objects, wall decorations and more furniture on 1stDibs.
18th C. Japanese Temple Architectural Fragment Figural / Wabi-Sabi Zen Sculpture
Located in 足利市, JP
An arresting 18th-century mid-Edo-period Japanese architectural carving salvaged from a historic Buddhist temple. Originally crafted as an exterior gable finial ornament (Gegyo-hire...
Wood, Hardwood
Japanese Edo Period Bronze Vase of Mimikuchi Flying Handle Form
Located in Buffalo, NY
A rare Edo period bronze vase with Mimikuchi flying handles, with quartered pear shaped body with spiral to the front and back, supported on a flared...
Bronze
$895
H 6.88 in Dm 3.88 in
Antique Signed Japanese Meiji Period Mixed Metals Bronze Double Gourd Form Vase
Located in Philadelphia, PA
A fine antique Japanese bronze vase. From the Meiji Period. With copper and silver floral and vine and butterfly inlay as well a kanji symbol to the neck (possibly a stylized f...
Silver, Bronze, Copper
Pair of Japanese Edo Period Musha Ningyo Courtier Dolls
Located in Austin, TX
Two exquisite Japanese musha ningyo dolls, crafted as courtiers, Edo Period, early 19th century, Japan. The older man can be identified as the h...
Shell, Brocade, Silk, Glass, Wood, Paint, Paper
Driftwood And Iron Wabi Sabi Style Sculpture
Located in Mexico City, MX
An anonymous wabi sabi style driftwood and iron table sculpture. The round cut of wood log has iron wires inlaid into one side of its center. The log is attached into another log of ...
Iron
Japanese Seated Portrait of a Zen Master, c. 1800
Located in Chicago, IL
This 19th century Japanese sculpture likely portrays an accomplished teacher of Japanese Zen Buddhism. Developed from wood with a polychrome finish, this monk is expertly carved with...
Wood
$452 / set
H 9.45 in W 6.7 in D 4.73 in
Pair of Japanese Champlevé Enamel Bronze Vases with Handles, Meiji Period
Located in Boven Leeuwen, NL
A decorative pair of Japanese bronze vases with champlevé enamel decoration, made in the late 19th century during the Meiji period. With their dark patinated bronze bodies, colourful...
Bronze
$1,763
H 20.87 in W 15.75 in D 17.33 in
Japanese Antique Pottery Jar 17th-18th Century/ Wabi-Sabi /Tokoname
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
Tokoname is a region in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, renowned as one of the country's oldest pottery centers, with a history dating back to the 12th century. This jar, despite cracking ...
Pottery
Japanese antique objet / wood wabi-sabi object
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is an ornament whose root part of the tree changes over time and looks like a Buddha statue. The surface of the wood has many holes and the shadows are very mysterious, and the...
Wood, Cedar
Japanese Antique Wabi-Sabi Edo Pottery Vase 18th Century / Tsubo
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a very old ceramic vase made in Japan. It was made in the Edo period (1860s-1860s). It is called Shigaraki ware in Japan. This large vase was used to hold and carry tea leav...
Pottery
$2,800 / set
H 8.5 in Dm 5 in
Pair of Japanese Edo Period Parcel-Gilt Bronze Dragon Vases, Early 19th Century
Located in Austin, TX
A pair of well cast and dramatic Japanese parcel gilt bronze dragon vases, Edo period, early 19th century. The heavy bronze vases of pear shape, each with a single writhing dragon cast in high relief...
Bronze
$1,500
H 13.47 in W 11.38 in D 6.3 in
Antique Japanese Wooden Komainu Guardian Dog Sculpture / Wabi-Sabi / Edo-Meiji
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a Japanese "Komainu" (guardian lion-dog). Komainu are statues of guardian beasts placed in pairs at the entrances of Shinto shrines or in front of shrine buildings, protectin...
Hardwood, Urushi lacquer
$995
H 10.5 in W 6.5 in D 3.5 in
Bronze Thai Siam Asian Temple Shrine Buddha Head Bust Fragment 18th-19th Century
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautifully sculpted Thai/ Siam Southeast Asian bronze Buddha head on a custom wood stand. The Buddha's eyes are closed in serene meditation. The piece has a wonderful feel and heft to it. Very well well crafted with a gorgeous natural organic patina acquired over age. This bust/fragment likely belonged to a larger Buddha statue...
Bronze
$795
H 5.25 in W 3 in D 1.7 in
Bronze Thai Siam Asian Temple Shrine Buddha Head Bust Fragment 18th-19th Century
Located in Studio City, CA
A beautifully sculpted Thai/ Siam Southeast Asian bronze Buddha head on a custom wood stand. The Buddha's eyes are closed in serene meditation. This beautiful gem has a wonderful feel and heft to it. Very well well crafted with a gorgeous natural organic patina acquired over age. This bust/fragment likely belonged to a larger Buddha statue...
Bronze
Japanese antique wooden bowl/Late 19th Century/Wabi-Sabi wall art
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
I have received a very cool wooden Bowl. The wooden bowl was made in the Edo period. It's very dry. It must have been exposed to rain and wind for quite some time. It is thought to ...
Wood
Sold
H 12.05 in W 4.34 in D 2.88 in
Japanese antique wood carving Buddha statue / 1700-1800 / Edo period
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
It is a wooden Buddha statue made in the Edo period in Japan. And this pose is called "Shaka Nyorai". It is the highest Buddhist statue in Buddhism. It is a very precious existence that saves the lives of many people. I think it was in a private house such as a small village. Since it is a simple sculpture, it was not carved by a person who specializes in carving Buddha...
Cypress
Sold
H 13.19 in W 3.35 in D 3.55 in
Edo Period Wooden Antique Buddha Statue / Sculpture Buddha / 1750-1850
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
We Japanese introduce unique items with unique aesthetics, purchasing routes, and ways that no one can imitate. It is a small wooden Buddha statue made ...
Cypress
Sold
H 5.63 in W 1.19 in D 0.79 in
Small Japanese Wooden Buddha Statue / Abstract Buddha Statue / Edo Period
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a wooden Buddha statue made in the Edo period in Japan. This is Jizo Bodhisattva. Jizo is one of the bodhisattvas in the world of Buddhism. I...
Cypress
Sold
H 5.32 in W 2.76 in D 2.37 in
Japanese Small Antique Wood Carving Buddha / 1600-1750 / Bodhisattva
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
It is a wooden Buddha statue made in Japan from the 1600s to the 1750s. It is from the Edo period. It is a type of Buddha statue called Bodhisattva, and it is a Buddha who will save you immediately when people in the world ask for salvation. Although small, the expression is very beautiful and it is carefully carved. Perhaps this small-sized Buddha statue was cherished at a small shrine or dedicated to a temple. It is darkened by oil smoke. It won't stick to your hands. Also, the hand part of the Buddha statue is missing. Sculptures are often rough in the late Edo period after the 19th century. However, although this is a small Buddha statue...
Cypress
Sold
H 17.72 in W 8.15 in D 4.85 in
Japanese Antique Wood Carving Buddha Statue / 1700-1800 / Edo Period / Wabi-Sabi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
We have a unique Japanese aesthetic sense. And only we can introduce unique items through our purchasing channels in Japan and the experience we have gained so far, in such a way th...
Wood
Japanese Antique Buddha / 1750-1850 / Edo Period / Garden Figurine
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a stone Buddha statue made in the latter half of the Edo period. Japan and China have made Buddhist statues from ancient times using stones. In Japan, such Buddha statues...
Granite
Sold
H 10.04 in W 5.91 in D 4.93 in
Beautiful Wooden Buddha Statue from the Edo Period / Bodhisattva / 1603-1800
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
We have a unique Japanese aesthetic sense. And only we can introduce unique items through our purchasing channels in Japan and the experience we have gained so far, in such a way th...
Other
Sold
H 10.24 in W 3.98 in D 3.98 in
Japanese Antique Traditional Design Wood Carving / Wabi-Sabi Art / Edo Period
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
We have a unique Japanese aesthetic sense. And only we can introduce unique items through our purchasing channels in Japan and the experience we have gained so far, in such a way th...
Cypress
Sold
H 7.41 in W 4.73 in D 2.17 in
Japanese Edo Period Demon Antique Mask / Traditional Performing Arts / Kyogen
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a wooden "oni" mask made from the Edo period to the Meiji period in Japan. "Oni" refers to a demon in the West. I think that everyone overseas has heard of "Demon Slayer...
Cypress
18th Century Japanese Samurai Battle Paddle with Mother of Pearl
Located in Hudson, NY
18th century Japanese Samurai Battle paddle with mother of pearl. Made of lacquered wood with mother of pearl inlay, bronze mounts, and a silk tie and tassel. Paddles similar to this...
Mother-of-Pearl, Silk, Wood, Lacquer
Japanese Antique Samurai Wine Gourd "Hyotan" with Serving Cup, Edo Period
Located in South Burlington, VT
From our recent Japanese acquisitions travels Rare find. Japanese large antique wine gourd "Hyotan" with an unusual incised design and complete with hand carved, lacquered serving cup and original tassles, Meiji period This is a very fine Samurai drinking vessel with an attached beautiful and unusual red and black lacquer hand carved ,wood decorated serving cup. The handmade cord tassles complete the ensemble. Dark old patina appropriate to its great age and historical importance. Age: Edo period Condition: Fine original condition with expected wear due to significant age Dimensions: Large size- 22 inches long and 9 inches wide Provenance: Old Japanese samurai collection coming from a northern Japanese gentleman About Japanese Hyotan or Calabash In Japan, the species is known as hyotan (??, ??) or yugao (??), with the former word referring particularly to the larger-fruiting...
Natural Fiber, Wood