From 1868 to 1912, Emperor Mutsuhito oversaw an era of transformation in Japan. Formerly a country of feudalism and isolation, Japan entered an age of modernization influenced by newly established trade and exchange with the West. The Meiji period, or period of “enlightened rule,” also saw the global impact of the East Asian country’s culture. Japanese Meiji furniture was exhibited at expositions from Paris to San Francisco and created for export.
Prior to the Meiji era, furniture was mostly made by commission for the ruling class; now there were new domestic and international markets. European styles like Japonisme appropriated Japanese design while craftsmen in places like Wales and England employed japanning, a varnishing technique that approximated the appearance of lacquer for the surfaces of furnishings.
Meiji furniture made for Japanese homes and buildings constructed in Western styles resulted in taller tables, chairs, cabinets with large drawers and other features. The government invested in areas such as transportation and communication, and because people could freely choose occupations after the restrictions of feudalism, industries of various types were energized by expressive new ideas during those years. Art schools were formed and, for the first time, design was an area of study in the country, leading to the evolution of professional design as a career by the 1890s.
The work of Japanese designers was transmitted widely through lavishly illustrated pattern books that included designs for screens and lacquerware for the home. While screens today may be of use as decorative accents or partitions to ensure privacy in one’s space, Japanese screens were adorned with paintings and were featured in performing arts such as concerts, tea ceremonies and more. The color illustrations that characterize Meiji woodblock prints, a genre of Japanese art that grew out of 17th-century developments in printing and book publishing, depicted the sweeping changes that the era brought to East Asia.
Although it was a time of societal and cultural shifts, a bolstered interest in art and design elevated Japanese craft traditions. From colorful porcelain table lamps with silk shades and hardwood tables decorated with dark lacquer to cabinets featuring iron hardware and inlaid with mother-of-pearl, Meiji furniture showcased Japan’s artistic heritage to the world.
Find a collection of antique Japanese Meiji period case pieces and storage cabinets, decorative objects, wall decorations and more furniture on 1stDibs.
Japanese Antique Trapezoid Wood Low Table or Bench 1860s-1900s / Wabisabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is an antique Japanese wooden furniture piece distinguished by its unusual trapezoidal form. Its low, elongated proportions and gently flared silhouette create a striking presen...
Cedar
Pair of Japanese Antique Cedar Low Display Stands, Meiji Era, Mingei, Circa 1900
Located in Hitachiomiya-shi, 08
These two Japanese antique display stands were crafted during the Late Meiji Period (1868–1912). Made primarily from Japanese cedar, the stands feature a simple, utilitarian constru...
Cedar
$2,671
H 40.1 in W 12 in D 12 in
Antique Early 1900s Hand Carved Oak Pedestal Display Stand, Floral Sculptured
Located in Lisse, NL
Stunning display column with a warm and beautiful patina. If you are looking for an antique column pedestal for displaying a vase, a plant, ...
Oak
Oak Art Nouveau Pedestal Table or Plant Stand, 1900s
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Magnificent and rare Art Nouveau pedestal table or plant stand. Striking Dutch design from the 1900s. Solid oak with original hand-carved elements. This wonderful Art Nouveau pedesta...
Oak
Antique Japanese Carved Hardwood Low Table with Cloisonne Dragon Top
Located in San Diego, CA
A stunning antique Japanese carved hardwood low table with cloisonne dragon top, circa early 1900s. The table is in very good vintage conditio...
Hardwood
$2,614
H 46 in Dm 25.5 in
Classical Style and Hand-Painted Antique Wooden Display Stand Column Pedestal
Located in Lisse, NL
Large, impressive and all handcrafted, 19th century wooden column. Thanks to its classical and perfectly geometrical design, this column pedestal can be used and enjoyed in all kind...
Pine
$900Sale Price|25% Off
H 22.45 in W 30.71 in D 18.51 in
Japanese Antique Black Wooden Box 1860s-1900s/Sofa Table Tansu Mingei Storage
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is an old Japanese black wooden box. It is from the Meiji period (1860s-1900s). The material is cedar. This is black and beautiful. Afte...
Wood
Custom Iron Display Stands of Varying Heights
Located in Sheffield, MA
The three contemporary display or sculpture stands have varying heights and the same width and depth dimensions. They are made of black iron with a brushed texture. These can be made...
Iron
Japanese Antique Low Table 1860s-1920s / Sofa Table Wabi Sabi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a rare old Japanese wooden low table, believed to date from the late Meiji period to the Taisho period, circa 1860s to 1920s. The tabletop is made from a single solid slab o...
Wood
$1,307
H 43.31 in W 13.78 in D 13.78 in
Art Nouveau Pedestal Plant Stand, Hand-Carved Beech & Marble, 1900s
Located in Amsterdam, NL
Stunning and elegant Art Nouveau pedestal or plant stand. Striking French design from the 1900s. Original hand-carved patinated beech frame with original white marble top. The marble...
Marble
$1,800
H 9.06 in W 39.38 in D 24.81 in
Japanese Antique Brutalist Low Table 1900s-1940s / Side Table Wabi Sabi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This low table boasts an impressive organic form, seemingly a direct reflection of natural shapes. The powerful wood grain, characteristic of a single slab, and the subtle black tex...
Wood
$2,020
H 7.09 in W 18.11 in D 18.11 in
Japanese Antique Wooden Block Low table・Stool 1860s-1900s / Primitive Wabi Sabi
Located in 足利市, JP
This extraordinary Meiji-period low table (Banshaku-dai / Ko-tsukue) is a masterpiece of Japanese rustic minimalism, hand-carved from a single, massive block of precious Zelkova wood...
Wood
$800
H 10.24 in W 33.86 in D 11.26 in
Antique Japanese cedar writing desk / Meiji-Taisho era / Soot-darkened table
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is an antique wooden table thought to have been used in ordinary homes and farmhouses in Japan sometime between the Meiji and Taisho eras. In Japanese, this type of furniture is...
Softwood, Cedar
English Arts & Crafts Oak Tiered Plant Stand, circa 1900s
Located in Troy, MI
This English Arts & Crafts plant stand is constructed in oak and features three tiers at varying heights. The uppermost platform sits atop four tapered legs that splay outward as...
Oak
Japanese Antique Rustic Coffee Table 1860s-1900s / Wabi Sabi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
Very old rustic style coffee table made in Japan. This piece dates to the Meiji period (1860s–1900s) and is carved from a massive single block of zelkova wood, a material long prized...
Wood
$3,638
H 14.97 in W 33.86 in D 35.44 in
Japanese Antique Brutalist Low Table 1900s-1940s / Side Table Wabi Sabi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
Japanese Brutalist Zelkova Low Table, Early Showa Period (circa 1900s–1940s) This Japanese primitive low table was created during the early Showa p...
Wood
$960Sale Price / set|20% Off
H 40.5 in W 13 in D 13 in
Pair of Antique Neoclassical Ebonized Pedestals C1900
Located in Big Flats, NY
Pair of Antique Neoclassical Ebonized Wood Stands With Tapered Columns & Footed, C1900 Measures - 40.5"H x 13"W x 13"D A striking pair of antique neoclassical pedestals from circa 19...
Wood
Sold
H 34.65 in W 24.41 in D 24.41 in
Tripod Pedestal Table with Double Bronze Tops, Japan, Meiji Period.
Located in Saint-Ouen, FR
Tripod pedestal table with double bronze tops, Japan, Meiji period. A tripod pedestal table with Japanese-style decorations of insects and flowers in relief on water lily leaves, do...
Bronze
Sold
H 38 in Dm 14 in
Japanese Antique Tree Root Stand 1860s-1900s / Pedistal / Side Table / Sculpture
Located in Buffalo, NY
This display stand is made from the roots of a very old Japanese tree. It is from the Meiji period (1860s-1900s). Art / Sculpture You can feel the strength of natural wood that you...
Wood
Japanese Bronze Meiji Period Pedestal by Yoshida Workshop
Located in Montreal, QC
Japanese bronze Meiji period pedestal by Yoshida Workshop Marked: Seikyô - Yoshida zô' (made by Yoshida in the western capital. Seikyo is an alt...
Bronze
Japanese Export Carved Side Table or Plant Stand in Ebonized Mahogany
Located in Astoria, NY
Japanese Meiji period side table or plant stand in carved and ebonized mahogany wood. Circular top with a carved dragon motif and carved decorative foliage and swung legs. The table ...
Wood
Japanese Rosewood Plant Stand or Drink Table
Located in Rio Vista, CA
Exceptional Japanese carved rosewood plant stand that would make a chic little drink table. Features a floating top design supported by elegant le...
Rosewood