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.
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
Japanese Negoro-Style Lacquered Table, 17th–18th Century
Located in Fukuoka, JP
This Japanese Negoro-style lacquered table dates to the 17th–18th century and exemplifies the restrained beauty and layered surface aesthetic characteristic of Negoro lacquerware. Tr...
Wood, Lacquer
$10,700Sale Price|45% Off
Lavish 19th Century Maruyama School Peacock Screen
Located in Fukuoka, JP
Lavish 19th Century Maruyama School Peacock Screen Period: 19th Century Size: 360 x 173 cm (141.7 x 68.1 inches) Behold the grandeur of the 19th Cent...
Wood, Paper
Antique Balinese Painting Indonesia 1930-1940 Bali / Indonesia Sampan Rice Paddy
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Beautifully painted Condition Good condition. Size. 88x 69 cm
Silk
Japanese Painting 17th c Edo Scroll Triptyque Kano Chikanobu Buddhist Painting
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
TheItem below was painted approximately 300 years ago by Kano Chikanobu. In the center is a depiction of a deer hermit, on the right is a landscape of a tower that gives a sense of ...
Silk
Edo Period Maki-e Lacquer Drum Box with Phoenix and Paulownia, 17th-19th Century
Located in Taichung, TW
Designer's Note: Historical Elegance: This drum box is a museum-quality example of Edo-period craftsmanship. Its presence adds an immediate sense of history and "Old World" Japanese...
Lacquer
Antique 17C Japanese Porcelain Blue White Edo Period Arita Vase Flowers Lion
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Nice & Beautiful Arita Japanese Porcelain Vase, beaker shape. This is a beautiful 17th-century Japanese Arita porcelain vase, likely dating to the second half of the 1600s during the...
Porcelain
Japanese inro of the edo period adorned with a landscape houses near a lake
Located in PARIS, FR
Inrō with four gold lacquer compartments, decorated with a lake landscape. Accompanied by a bronze ryusa manju. Small boxes formed of compartments that fit one on top of the other, i...
Gold
Antique Edo Netsuke 18/19th C Japanese Japan Ikkosai 'Different world in a cave'
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Lovely and very detailed piece. Signed Ikkosai - Different world in a cave. It looks like a cave in a human brain. Very interesting Provenance: Collected in the 1980's. From the col...
Metal, Bronze
Japanese Bronze Usubata with Waves and Plovers, Edo Period, Mid-19th Century
Located in Austin, TX
An impressive Japanese cast bronze usubata, vessel for ikebana, in the form of a large conical vessel being supported by crashing waves and flying chidori. Edo Period, mid-19th centu...
Bronze
Miniature Antique Edo Period Ca 1700 Japanese Porcelain Ewer Blue White
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Description Sharing with you this very sweet and small ewer from the edo period. We have never owned a piece like this before and think it's really sweet and delicate. With a lovely...
Porcelain
Antique Ko-Imari Edo Period Japanese Porcelain Dish, 17th C
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
A very nice blue and white dish of moulded shape. Unusual painting. Early Edo period. Dating to 1680-1700 Reference: CJA Jorg - Fine and Curious Additional information: Material...
Porcelain
Antique Japanese Ceramic Ko-Tanba Chaire Edo Period
Located in Atlanta, GA
A ceramic chaire (Tea caddies) of Ko-Tanba ware type from Edo period Japan circa 18th to early 19th century. This type of small jar was made of stoneware in old Seto kilns in Gifu pr...
Ceramic
Three Japanese Vintage Tea Caddies by Noted Potters with Shifuku and Tomobako
Located in Atlanta, GA
An assembled collection of three Japanese vintage Seto ware Chaires (Tea Caddies) made by well noted potters circa 1960-80s. The group consists of three Cha...
Ceramic, Silk, Wood
A Lovely shaped 17C Edo period Rare Porcelain Dish Fisherman Enamel
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
A great dish dating to most probably the second half of the 17th century, delicate painting of a fisherman walking the bridge of a river. Condition Good condition, chip to rim, tha...
Porcelain
Japanese bronze image of Tanjo no Shaka
Located in Point Richmond, CA
Japanese bronze image of Tanjo no Shaka, the infant Buddha (Shakyamuni), a standing figure with the right hand pointing towards heaven and the left hand pointing toward earth, costum...
Bronze
Japanese Nihonga Painting 19th c Edo Scroll by Tonomura Chokunyu River landscape
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
[Authentic work] ◆Tanomura Chokunyu ◆Ink painting landscape ◆Japanese painting ◆Handpainted ◆ Paper ◆ Hanging scroll ◆ Chokunyu Tanomura 1814 (Bunka 11) - 1907 (Meiji 40) [Art yearbook appraised value 8 million yen] "A child prodigy in painting, Tanomura Chokunyu originally modeled himself after the style of the famous Tanomura Chikuden (1777-1835), who had adopted him at the age of eight. After Chikuden's death, Chokunyu took up an intense study of imported Chinese paintings." Paul Berry in: Literati Modern, p.136.) - The certificate box was inscribed by Tajika Chikuson (1864-1922), one of Chokunyu's key disciples. Around 1840, he studied Confucianism under Kotake Shinozaki in Osaka, deepened his friendships with Heihachiro Oshio and Tessai Tomioka through sencha, and began to be recognized as a painter. Furthermore, in 1862, he founded and hosted the Seiwan Tea Ceremony (a sencha tea ceremony), which achieved great fame. In 1868, he moved to Kyoto and participated in the establishment of the Kyoto Prefectural Painting School (opened in 1880), serving as its principal and making efforts to foster the next generation.Furthermore, in 1996, he established the Japan Nanga Association with Tessai and others, and established the Japan Nanga Association, which was established in modern Japan. He made a great contribution to painting and the southern painting...
Silk
Japanese Two-Panel Screen, Deer in Cedar Landscape
Located in Hudson, NY
Originally fusuma doors, three deer stand in a clearing in a pine forest with gold leaf mist. Mid Edo period painting in mineral pigments on gold leaf wi...
Gold
Antique Japanese Lacquer and Inlay Kang Table from Ryukyu Island
Located in Atlanta, GA
A small low table with lacquer and intricate mother-of-pearl inlay design from Ryukyu Islands kingdom circa 17-18th century. Ryukyuan kingdom was used to be an independent island cou...
Mother-of-Pearl, Lacquer
19th Century Japanese Silk Painting by Kano Chikanobu, Turtles & Azalea
Located in Kyoto, JP
Birds & flowers of the seasons Pheasants & plum in snow Unframed painting. Ink, pigment and gofun on silk Kano Chikanobu 1819-1888 Signature...
Silk
The Plovers over the Sea Shores Screen (2/2)
Located in Fukuoka, JP
The Plovers over the Sea Shores Screen Period: 18th century (Edo period) Size: 360 x 170 cm (141.7 x 66.9 inches) SKU: PA39 Travel back in time with this classic Edo period screen,...
Wood, Paper
Japanese Zushi Traveling Shrine of Jizō Bosatsu, c. 1850
Located in Chicago, IL
The simple exterior of black lacquer encasing this 19th-century Japanese traveling shrine (zushi) belies the splendor within. The hinged doors open to reveal a lustrous gold interior...
Wood
Rare Japanese Gilt Copper Temple Nail Cover (Nageshikazari), Edo Period
Located in Fukuoka, JP
A rare and finely crafted Japanese temple nail cover (nageshikazari), dating to the Edo period (18th–19th century). Executed in gilded copper, this architectural ornament was design...
Copper
Antique Japanese 17th c Edo Scroll Kano Yosanobu Buddhist Painting
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Eishin Kano's Ebisu/Great Country Map, double-width/comes with an old box. The auspicious statues of Ebisu and Daikoku are standing in a double-width hanging scroll with a smiling fa...
Silk
$766Sale Price|47% Off
Antique Ko-Imari Edo Period Japanese Porcelain Dish Arita, 17th Century
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
A very nice blue and white dish of round shape. Unusual painting. Early Edo period. Dating to 1660-1680 Similar objects in Shibata collection Chenghua marked Additional informati...
Porcelain
Large Antique Imari Porcelain Plate with Shishi and Botan Motifs, Late Edo–Meiji
Located in Fukuoka, JP
This impressive large antique Imari porcelain plate dates to the late Edo–Meiji period (19th century) and is finely decorated with a lively composition of playful shishi (mythical li...
Porcelain
Japanese Woodblock Print the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tokaido by Hiroshige
By Utagawa Hiroshige (Ando Hiroshige)
Located in Atlanta, GA
Artist: Utagawa Hiroshige (1797 - 1858) Series: The Fifty-three Stations of the Tokaido (Upright) Number: 40 Chiryu: The Former Site of the Irises at Eightbridge Village (Chiryu, Yatsuhashimura kakitsubata no koseki) Medium: Woodblock Print Date: 1855 Format: Vertical Oban Size (H x W): 14" x 9.25" print only. Publisher: Tsutaya Kichizo Seals: Aratame and date Signature: Hiroshige hitsu...
Paper
Elegant Japanese Edo Period Rack
Located in New York, NY
This refined object dates to the first half of the 19th century, and was probably used for obi, kimono sashes, which were hung over it. The gold decorations on the black-lacquered g...
Lacquer
Antique 1660-1680 Japanese Polychrome Plate Landscape Dragon Phoenix
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
An Arita dish in storage box. Edo Period ( 17th century) Decorated in overglaze enamel on underglaze blue. Flowers, landscape, Dragon and Phoenix. Color bursting from it. Period; ...
Porcelain
A Rare Set of 5 Edo Period Japanese Arita Porcelain Imari Style Vases
Located in New York, NY
An Exclusive and Rare Set of Five Edo Period Japanese Arita Porcelain Imari Style Vases. This garniture set reflects the demand for decorative porcelain ensembles across Europe, part...
Porcelain
$3,128Sale Price|62% Off
18th Century Nagasaki School Tiger Screen
Located in Fukuoka, JP
18th Century Nagasaki School Tiger Screen Period: Edo Size: 165 x 172 cm (65 x 67.7 inches) SKU: PTA69 This exceptional 18th-century screen from the Edo...
Wood, Paper
Japanese Netsuke in Boxwoord in the form of two chestnut
Located in PARIS, FR
Boxwood netsuke of two chestnuts, one smaller on top of the larger. Chestnuts are a central part of Japanese culture and gastronomy. Castanea Crenata or Japanese chestnut is an indi...
Boxwood
Japanese Six Panel Screen Battle of Uji Bridge
Located in Hudson, NY
The first battle at Uji was in 1180 and was the beginning of the Heike Wars. This screen depicts a famous scene from the Heike Wars. Two Heike generals, Sasaki Takatsuna and Kajiwa...
Gold Leaf
Imari Porcelain Blue & Red Large Bowl, Early 19th century
Located in Worcester Park, GB
The image shows an Imari porcelain bowl, a distinctive style of Japanese export porcelain. Origin and Name: Imari ware originated in the Arita kilns of the former Hizen Province in n...
Porcelain
Japanese Six Panel Screen, Snow Scene at Water’s Edge
Located in Hudson, NY
Japanese Six Panel Screen: Snow Scene at Water's Edge with Flowers and Waterfowl. Edo period painting (mid 19th century) of plum, bamboo, white camellias, cranes and mandarin ducks ...
Gold Leaf
Antique Edo Period Japanese Porcelain Plate Arita Kraak Dish, Ca 1700
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Sharing this very nice edo period, 1680-1700, example. With a central scene of a flowers. The rim beautifully painted, quite unusual. Unmarked at base Arita ware, also known as Ar...
Porcelain
Wabi Sabi Style Japanese Found Wood Scholar’s Object
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A dramatic and beautifully timeworn Japanese Wood Sculpture in vaguely anthropomorphic form balanced on five points and fashioned from a particula...
Wood
Antique Kraak Edo Period 1680-1690 Japanese Porcelain Huge Charger Arita
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Sharing with you this very nice edo period, 1680-1700, example. With a garden floral scene. Marked at base: made in the Hua Qing period of the great Ming Dynasty Arita ware, also known as Arita-yaki, has its origins in 1616, when a Korean farmer, Yi Sam-pyeong, discovered white clay kaolin in Arita and used it to create Japan’s first porcelain. Arita was the first place to produce ceramics in Japan. After the discovery, a number of kilns opened in the area and it soon became a source for Japanese export porcelain...
Porcelain
Japanese antique pottery small vase / Karatsu ware / Edo period / Kyushu region
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is Takeo Karatsu pottery, believed to have been fired during the Edo period (circa 17th to 19th centuries). Karatsu ware is traditional Japanese ceramics made in the Karatsu reg...
Pottery
Antique Japanese Porcelain Edo Period Bowl with landscape, Japan, ca 1800
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Antique Edo Period Bowl With landscape Japan ca 1800 Japanese Porcelain. Additional information: Material: Porcelain & Pottery Region of Origin: Japan...
Porcelain
Japanese Buddhist Mirror and Dragon Stand, Edo Period, early 19th c, Japan
Located in Austin, TX
A powerful and rare Japanese Buddhist "sacred" mirror and stand, Edo Period, late 18th or early 19th century, Japan. The bronze mirror is housed in a two part gilt wood and lacquer ...
Bronze
Antique Imari Porcelain Plate with Shishi and Botan Motifs, Late Edo–Meiji Perio
Located in Fukuoka, JP
This antique Imari porcelain plate dates to the late Edo–Meiji period (19th century) and is decorated with a lively scene of playful shishi (mythical lion-dogs) among blooming botan ...
Porcelain
Japanese Asian Six-Panel Folding Byobu Screen Landcape Bridge with Iris Flowers
Located in Studio City, CA
A gorgeous six-panel Japanese Byobu folding screen depicting a nature lake/landscape scene with a water walkway/angular bridge and blossoming iris flowers - perhaps an homage to the famed Irises screens...
Gold Leaf
Antique Chinese Bronze Statue Guanyin China 19th / 20th century
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
BRONZE top level Chinese statue Qing period, 19th century. Condition 29.5cm Period 19th century
Porcelain
Antique Mixed Metal Japanese Shibuichi Vase/Ewer Bronze Japan Porcelain 19C
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Interesting and finely made mixed metal shibuichi vase. Very cool and of high quality. marked above the base rim. Condition There is a chip to the base rim and the upper rim has s...
Porcelain
Antique Japanese Woodblock - Watanabe Seitei Shotei woodcut Birds in a Tree
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Description Watanabe Seitei (Shotei) Pigeons and Stone Lantern sheet measures: 11 1/2" H x 9" W Please note that shipping charges are inclusive of insurance, payment processing and c...
Paper
A Japanese Edo Period Lacquer Kogo (Incense) Box, late 17/early 18th Century
Located in Spencertown, NY
Early Japanese Lacquer Incense Box (Kogo) Late 17thc. Of rectangular form with soft corners, decorated with a diaper pattern in gold lacquer on a brownish black ground, with pewter r...
Pewter
Late 18th C Japanese Edo Period Palanquin Bow (Rimankyuu) Country House Antique
Located in Lowestoft, GB
A Japanese Edo Period Palanquin Bow (Rimankyuu) with two racks of arrows. The bow with reflexed design made of whalebone, the back and belly painted with golden mon and the grip (n...
Iron
Rare Japanese Ceramic Glazed Inro with Ojime Ogata Kenzan Edo Period
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Japanese three-section inro made from ceramic with glazed painting with an original ensuite Ojime circa 18th century of Edo period signed by Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743). The circular ...
Ceramic
18th Century Japanese Bronze Tōrō Lantern
Located in Houston, TX
18th-Century Japanese bronze tōrō lantern with recently updated wiring.
Bronze
Antique 17th Century Japanese Porcelain Garniture Vases Blood and Milk Edo Pe
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Sharing with you this amazing set for decorating your home. Interesting and beautifully made. 3 porcelain Arita baluster vases with covers. All decorated with with a nice floral dec...
Porcelain
Japanese Sweet Dish in Wood Slab Form
Located in Bridgeport, CT
A finely crafted Japanese glazed Porcelain Sweet Dish in the form of a natural wood slab. In a deep Chocolate Brown glaze with good weight and bearing the marks of a wood slab with a...
Porcelain
$1,675 / set
Pair Japanese Choshi Sake Ewers
Located in Pasadena, CA
This is a wonderful pair of 19th century Octagonal Choshi or Sake Ewers that was created during the late Edo or Meiji Period. The Choshi are composed of an Octagonal finely cast iron kettle with and open end spout which differentiates them from the traditional Japanese tea kettle...
Brass, Iron
Antique Edo Period Japanese Porcelain Large Dish Fan Decoration, Ca 1700
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
Sharing with you this very nice edo period, 1666/1680, example. A rare version with Fan in the border Unmarked Additional information: Material: Porcelain & Pottery Region of Origin...
Porcelain
Rare Japanese Ceramic Glazed Inro with Ojime and Netsuke Ogata Kenzan Edo Period
Located in Atlanta, GA
A Japanese four-section inro made from ceramic with glazed painting with original ensuite Ojime and Netsuke circa 18th century of Edo period signed by Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743). The r...
Ceramic
Nestuke in red lacquer carved in theform of a fan using the tsuishu technique
Located in PARIS, FR
Manju-type netsuke (round in form) in red lacquer, carved using the tsuishu technique (carved red lacquer), shaped as a fan and decorated with a carved scene of a scholar and his attendant. Round or oval in form, the manju netsuke...
Lacquer
KataborI netsuke in black lacquer depicting the character "ju" or longevity
Located in PARIS, FR
Katabori-type netsuke (fully three-dimensional) in carved wood, lacquered in black, depicting the character ju (“longevity”). Signed Zanaka. Ink in East Asia is generally presented i...
Lacquer
Katabori netsuke in boxwood in the form of a tachibana orange
Located in PARIS, FR
Katabori-type netsuke (fully three-dimensional) in carved boxwood, in the form of a tachibana orange within its foliage, the peel on the reverse opened to reveal the segments. Signed...
Boxwood
Boxwood nestuke in the form of a kettle transforming into a raccoon dog
Located in PARIS, FR
Netsuke in carved boxwood, in the form of a kettle transforming into a raccoon dog (tanuki). The lid of the kettle, carved as a himotoshi (cord hole) on the back of the tanuki, is ma...
Antler, Boxwood
Japanese Nihonga Painting 19th Meiji Scroll Tajika Chikuson Landscape Nanga
Located in Amsterdam, Noord Holland
[Authentic Artwork] ◆ Chikuson Tajika ◆ Autumn Landscape ◆ Master: Naoiri Tanomura ◆ Oita Prefecture ◆ Hand-Painted ◆ Silk Mounted ◆ Hanging Scroll ◆ Delve into the artistry of Chik...
Silk