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 Black Box / Side Table Exhibition Stand / 1868-1912s/ Wabi-sabi
Located in Iwate-gun Shizukuishi-cho, Iwate Prefecture
This is an old wooden storage box made in Japan. It is thought to date from around the Meiji period and is made of cedar. It has a simple design with no metal fittings. The overall m...
Wood, Cedar
Japanese Antique Side Table, Late Meiji Era '1868–1912', Wabi Sabi
Located in Hitachiomiya-shi, 08
This antique side table was crafted in the Late Meiji Era (1868–1912). The top is made from solid zelkova (keyaki) wood, paired with legs crafted from cedar. The surface has develope...
Cedar
$720Sale Price|28% Off
Japanese Antique Storage Box 1860s-1900s / Nightstand Side Table Wabi Sabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is a wooden storage box made in Japan. It was made during the Meiji period (1860s-1900s) and has a long-standing taste and quiet presence. The material is cedar wood. This wood ...
Cedar
$800Sale Price|33% Off
Japanese Antique Side Table or Bench 1860s-1920s / Display Stand Wabisabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is an old Japanese side table or bench. It was made in the Meiji and Taisho periods (1860s-1920s), and is made of cedar wood with a beautiful rustic texture. The straight, stre...
Cedar
Japanese Antique Paper-covered Box 1900s-1920s / Kakishibu
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a very old storage box covered in washi paper. It was made in the Meiji period (1900s-1920s). The old washi paper is painted with persimmon tannins. Painting with persimmon ...
Paper
Japanese antique Black Urushi low display stand, wabi sabi side table or bench
Located in 常陸大宮市, JP
Japanese antique low display stand manufactured circa 1880s - 1910s (Mid to late Meiji period), estimate from the style, technique & conditions. Finished with traditional black Urush...
Wood
Set of Four Japanese Triangular Nesting Corner Tables, Meiji Period
Located in Kastrup, DK
This rare set of four Japanese triangular nesting corner tables or console tables dates from the late Meiji period, circa 1900. Each table is crafted in wood and finished with richly...
Wood
Japanese antique checkout counter w/shelf, wabi sabi side table, display stand
Located in 常陸大宮市, JP
Japanese antique checkout counter with inner shelf, manufactured circa 1780s - 1910s (Meiji period), estimate from the style & conditions. Tabletop is finished with traditional blac...
Wood
19th Century Japanese Meiji Era Tansu Clothing Chest On Iron Stand
Located in Fort Collins, CO
Constructed from Sugi wood (Japanese cedar), this clothing chest is minimalist in design, resting on an iron frame. The side table is adorned with blackened iron hardware, featuring ...
Iron
19th Century Japanese Meiji Era Tansu Clothing Chest On Iron Stand
Located in Fort Collins, CO
Constructed from Sugi (Japanese cedar), this clothing kimono chest is decorated with blackened iron brackets and hardware, resting on an iron stand. The side table features 3 drawers...
Iron
Japanese Meiji Driftwood and Decorated Side Table
Located in Germantown, MD
A Japanese stained Driftwood and Decorated Side Table in great antique antique condition.
Hardwood, Paint
Antique Japanese Meiji Period Elaborate Flying Dragon Table
Located in Forney, TX
A magnificent antique Japanese powerfully carved center table with dragons from the Meiji period. The growth of urban centers and spread of wealth during the Meiji Restoration period in Japan ushered in an era that reveled in the aesthetic qualities of objects and actions in everyday life. This ornately carved figural table from the late 19th century / early 20th century demonstrates the level of pleasure and luxury pursued by the wealthy. The mythical dragon-inspired shape echoes throughout the elaborately hand carved ebonized hardwood; with an unadorned inset polished circular rich rosewood colored top with attractive wood graining; scalloped border and edge with ornate running ornamentation between; rises over the profusely carved and stylized skirt with carvings of whimsical dragon mask and spread wings in high relief and open scrollwork; raised on four spoon carved...
Rosewood
Japanese Pine and Bamboo and Lacquered Side Table
Located in Stamford, CT
An exceptionally minimal yet playful Japanese side table having a circular Pine top rising on two detachable bamboo legs from a square Pine. base. The edges of both the top and base ...
Bamboo
Sold|$900
H 14.38 in W 24.81 in D 14.57 in
Japanese antiques wood table /wabi-sabi side table / primitive wood table / stan
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This table is made from branches repurposed from some of Japan's most antique folk tools, combined with old zelkova planks. Its small size makes it suitable for use as a side table o...
Wood
Dutch Art Deco Modernist occasional table or side table, 1920s
By Genneper Molen, P.E.L. Izeren 1
Located in EVERDINGEN, NL
A rare 1920s Dutch Art Deco side table with a stylish modernist design, which makes it a nice accent piece in a stylish interior. Made from s...
Macassar, Oak, Walnut
On Hold|$3,389
H 20.08 in W 43.31 in D 23.63 in
Japanese Antique Low Table 1860s-1920s / Sofa Table Wabi Sabi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This sculptural low table is composed of two antique Japanese utilitarian objects, created during the late Meiji to early Taishō period, approximately (1868 to 1920). The tabletop i...
Wood, Cedar
$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
$4,500
H 14.38 in W 70.48 in D 42.52 in
Japanese Antique Large Exhibition Table 1860s-1920s / Low Table Wabi-Sabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is a large antique Japanese display table. A substantial sliding door from the Meiji period (1860s–1920s) has been repurposed as the tabletop and set atop a raw tree stump, pres...
Tin
$3,800
H 22.05 in W 42.13 in D 25.99 in
Japanese Antique Brutalist Side Table 1860s-1900s / Coffee Table Wabisabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is an old Japanese Brutalist side table. It is composed of materials that were originally used during the Meiji period (1860s–1900s), and it po...
Wood
Sold|$4,600
H 28.94 in W 47.45 in D 26.78 in
Antique Japanese Wooden Table / 1868-1920 / Wabi-Sabi Table
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This Japanese antique wooden table was crafted between the Meiji and Taishō periods (1868–1920) and is made from solid pine wood. While originally conceived as a functional piece fo...
Wood
$1,900
H 16.15 in W 67.33 in D 32.29 in
1920s-40s Japanese wabi sabi large low center table, display table or bench
Located in 常陸大宮市, JP
New finds from an old elementary school in Ibaraki pref., Japan. This vintage low table - or bench, was manufactured circa 1920s to 40s (early Showa era), estimate from the style & ...
Cypress
Wooden side table, Spain, 1860s
Located in Tokyo, Tokyo
Small antique wooden table from Spain, the mid-19th century. Defined by its modest scale, hand-crafted construction, and richly worn surface, the table carries a quiet architectural...
Wood
$1,100
H 11.89 in W 34.89 in D 29.34 in
Japanese Antique Low Table (Zataku), Meiji Era (1868–1912), Wabi Sabi
Located in Hitachiomiya-shi, 08
This Japanese low table (zataku) was crafted in the Meiji Era (1868–1912) from sugi (Japanese cedar) and finished with kakishibu (persimmon tannin combined with pine soot), creating ...
Cedar
Andrianna Shamaris Wabi Sabi Side Table or Stool
Located in New York, NY
Antique hand made side table or stool. Celebrating the cracks and crevices and all the other marks that time and loving use have left behind. Circa 1950. This side table or stool wa...
Wood, Teak, Reclaimed Wood
Wooden Low Table, Japanese Antique, Wabi-Sabi, Mingei
Located in Katori-Shi, 12
Introducing our exquisite low table, a stunning example of the beauty found in wabi-sabi and traditional craftsmanship. Originally used as a sewing workbench, this piece carries a ri...
Wood
Sold
H 16.54 in W 32.88 in D 19.49 in
Japanese Antique Wooden Box / Side Table Sofa Table / 1868-1912s Wabi-sabi
Located in Iwate-gun Shizukuishi-cho, Iwate Prefecture
This is an old wooden box made in Japan. It is thought to date from around the Meiji period and is made of cherry wood. It is one of the folk tools used in early modern Japan, and ...
Wood, Cherry
Japanese antique wabi-sabi wooden low table / 1800s / side table
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
Finally, the wait is over - a wooden low table filled with wabi-sabi charm! This wooden low table, made between the end of the Edo period and the Meiji period in Japan, is the very ...
Cedar
Sold
H 13.78 in W 26.38 in D 16.93 in
Japanese Antique Black Wooden Box 1860s-1900s / Side Table Nightstand Wabisabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is a black wooden box made in Japan. It was made during the Meiji period (1860s-1900s) and is made of light and strong cedar wood. It is a beautiful storage box with a simple sh...
Cedar
Sold
H 5.91 in W 15.16 in D 13.78 in
Japanese Antique Set of Small Paper-covered Boxes 1900s-1920s / Kakishibu
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
A set of very old storage boxes covered in washi paper. Made in the Meiji period (1900s-1920s). Old washi paper is painted with persimmon tannins. Painting with persimmon tannins ha...
Paper
Sold
H 16.74 in W 45.28 in D 22.05 in
Japanese Antique Simplicity Black Side Table 1860s-1920s / Bench Wabisabi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is a very old side table made in Japan. This furniture is from the Meiji period (1860s-1920s). It is made of cedar wood. It has a well-honed desig...
Cedar
Japanese Antique Wabi-Sabi Wooden Box 1860s-1900s / Side Table
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is an old Japanese wooden box. This box was made during the Meiji period (1860s-1900s) and was used to store rice. The material is cedar woo...
Cedar
Japanese Antique Work Table 1860s-1900s / Side Table Wabisabi
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This account is made up of five companies, I specialize in selecting carefully selected items, specializing in Japanese antiques. Based on my 20 years of experience, I offer a unique...
Cedar
Japanese wood table /wabi-sabi table / primitive table /
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This table is made by combining an old tree stump with a newly made tabletop. The tabletop is made of a single piece of wood and has a lacquer-like finish. It is black with fine hair...
Wood
Japanese wood table /wabi-sabi table / primitive table /
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This table is made by combining an old tree stump with a newly made tabletop. The tabletop is made of a single piece of wood and has a lacquer-like finish. It is black with fine hair...
Wood
Japanese wood table /wabi-sabi table / primitive table /
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This table is made by combining an old tree stump with a newly made tabletop. The tabletop is made of a single piece of wood and has a lacquer-like finish. It is black with fine hair...
Wood
Early 20th Century Japanese Meiji Cedar Side Table
Located in London, GB
A simple Meiji era side table constructed from heavily patinated cedar timber with remnants of old paint/lacquer. Likely once a utilitarian piece, the circular opening now allowing f...
Cedar
Japanese Antique Primitive Coffee Table, Side Table Wabi Sabi
Located in Katori-Shi, 12
This is an old Japanese coffee table. It is from the Meiji period (1860s-1900s). The material is horse chestnut. It was carved from a large horse chestnut tree. It is powerful and t...
Wood