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.
Fine Japanese Namban Lacquer Jewelry Casket, 17th Century
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Japanese Namban lacquer transition-style coffer with two drawers Kyoto/Nagasaki, circa 1650 The cartouches with gilt and red decorations of leaves...
Cypress
Japanese Porcelain Charger, Marked 'Tezuka' テツカ and 'Yamatoku', circa 1900
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Nice Japanese charger with decoration of Bamboo. Charger - Porcelain - Marked 'Tezuka' ??? and 'Yamatoku' ???? - Japan - circa 1900-1910 (Late Meiji Period) 4-11-19-3-1Nice Jap...
Porcelain
Early 19th Century Japanese Wood Noh Mask
Located in Hudson, NY
Early 19th century Japanese wood noh mask, This mask comes in its original kiri wood storage box, which is signed and dated: Koran, 1811 (Edo period). The box...
Gesso, Wood
Japanese Two Panel Screen: Genpei Warriors
Located in Hudson, NY
The Genpei War took place from 1180–1185, during which the Minamoto clan rebelled against the Taira clan for control of Japan. The two clans had a bitter rivalry for years, and the M...
Gold Leaf
19th Century Superior Quality Japanese Bronze Vase with Grape Vine Handles
Located in Hudson, NY
19th century superior quality Japanese bronze vase with grape vine handles. Beautifully shaped Edo period (first half of the 19th century) vase with c...
Bronze
19th Century Red Lacquer Tray with Rabbit Running Over Waves Under Full Moon
Located in Hudson, NY
19th century Japanese red lacquer tray with rabbit running over waves under full moon. Mingei style painting, the imagery of this tray is bas...
Wood, Lacquer
Japanese Two Panel Screen, Hollyhocks
Located in Hudson, NY
Edo period (18th century) furosaki screen (tea screen), with seal of the artist: Jakyu. Korin School painting, employing Kenzan style of split image. (see "Morning Glories" Metropoli...
Silk, Paper, Wood
Pair of Antique Japanese Buddhist Temple Headdress and Necklace Ornaments
Located in Hudson, NY
Pair of antique Japanese Buddhist temple headdress and necklace ornaments. Gilt bronze with decorative stones and beads, and intricate metalw...
Bronze
Japanese Lacquer Koro 'Incense Burner'
Located in Hudson, NY
Removable bronze top, with gold drip pattern at top. Cresting ocean waves on bottom with raised silver sea spray.
Silver, Bronze
A pair of Edo period ‘Scheveningen’ design Arita export dishes
Located in Lymington, Hampshire
Each of these decagonal saucer-dishes is painted in underglaze-blue with a landscape of two Dutchmen and a boy warmly wrapped up and wearing large hats, two appear to be skating and ...
Ceramic
Woodblock Print Comical Views of Famous Places in Edo by Hiroshige Hirokage
Located in Atlanta, GA
Artist: Utagawa Hirokage (active 1855-1865) Series: Comical Views of Famous Places in Edo Number: 21 "Cherry-blossom Viewing at the Middle Hall and the Double Hall in Ueno" Mediu...
Paper
Dutch Colonial Japanese Scroll Painting of Chief Merchant Doeff
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Nagasaki School (EARLY 19TH CENTURY) Opperhoofd Hendrik Doeff with Javanese servant Kakemono, watercolor on paper, mounted on silk and textile covered paper scroll, not signed....
Silk, Paper
Unpei Kameyama, 'a View of Black 'American' Ships in the Bay of Uraga Senminato'
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Unpei Kameyama (1821-1899) A view of black (American) ships in the bay of Uraga Senminato, Miura district, June 1853 The Japanese text reads: ‘The seventy-six old men for the Kitamura-clan, drawn in 1897 on request of Yoshisada Kitamura, Himeji, the black ships which so much changed the fate of Japan, enjoy please this masterpiece by Harima Shonin Bisei who brings back memories of his young days.’ Watercolour on paper, laid down on cardboard, H. 44.5 x W. 115.5 cm Provenance: Collection of Yoshisada Kitamura, Himeji Yoshisada Kitamura (1838-1899), the son of a farmer in the village of Ogawa, in the district of Harimakashikihigashi, studied under Matajiro Otaka and got heavily involved in the anti-Shogunate movement. He was active in several military incidents against the Shogunate. After the Meiji restoration, he served the Meiji government as a local official in the Himeji domain. Kameyama Unpei was a Confucian scholar, a Shinto priest...
Paper
A Set of Six Takatori Ware Dishes Now Mounted
Located in Stamford, CT
A set of Six Takatori Ware plates. One employing the Japanese Kintsugi technique of using gold to repair cracked ceramics. As a philosophy, kintsugi is similar to the Japanese phi...
Stoneware