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 Low Table 1860s-1920s / Display Table Wabisabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is an antique Japanese low table, distinguished by its beautifully low proportions that extend quietly toward the floor. Its understated form reflects the aesthetic sensibility ...
Cedar
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 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
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
$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
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
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 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
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
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
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
Antique Dark Brown Lacquered Low Display Table with Carved Legs
Located in Yonkers, NY
An antique Chinese low dark brown lacquered display table from the early 20th century with carved legs and apron. Created in China during the early years of the 20th century, this la...
Wood
Japanese antique wooden small low table/1868-1920/coffee table
Located in Sammu-shi, Chiba
This is an antique wooden low table that was used in rural areas and shops in Japan. In Japanese, this is called "fu-zukue." Farmers used it to study, and shops used it to keep track...
Wood
On Hold|$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
$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
$1,500
H 10.24 in W 74.02 in D 15.75 in
Japanese Antique Low Table or Bench 1900s-1940s / Sofa Table Wabi Sabi
Located in Chōsei District Nagara, JP
This is an old Japanese low table. Originally used as furniture suited to a floor-seated lifestyle, it now naturally lends itself to use as a bench as well, making it a versatile pie...
Wood, Pine
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
Antique Oak Cricket Table by Heals of London Arts & Crafts Period
By Heal's
Located in Norwich, GB
A rare design Heal & Son oak cricket table. Maker's label. Circa 1900. The table is in very good condition, and has been cleaned and waxed. There are a few marks consistent wi...
Oak
$800
H 10.24 in W 35.04 in D 13.39 in
Antique Japanese Keyaki Tenjin Low Table, Meiji Period(1868–1912)
Located in Hitachiomiya-shi, 08
This antique Tenjin low table was crafted in the Meiji period (1868–1912) from solid keyaki (Japanese zelkova). Originally used as a low writing desk in floor-seated interiors, the ...
Wood
French Art Deco 1920s Wrought Iron Table
Located in CA, CA
An elegant French Art Deco wrought iron table. Understated in it simplicity the forging of this piece has been executed with great precision the interior of each of the ribon scrolls...
Wrought Iron
Organic Wabi Sabi Rustic Side Table, 1950s
Located in Barcelona, ES
Spanish Side Table in Natural Wood Spanish Brutalist Wabi Sabi Rustic Tripod Side Table, 1950s Eye-catching wooden rustic tripod four footed side table with organic design and natural finish. This sculptural end or side table has a primitive construction and Wabi Sabi inspiration. Its patina and construction show natural imperfection showing pass of time. Minor repairs on the base but still strong and sound with highly decorative organic forms. Entirely made by hand. It comes from the Northern Spain. In good vintage condition with small signs from age and use. Measures: 48 cm W x 37 cm D x 52 cm H // 18,89 in W x 14,56 in D x 20,47 in H Wabi Sabi Wood Table // Rustic Wooden Table // Primitive Folk Art Table // Spanish Rustic Coffee Table
Wood
Wooden Low Table, Japanese Antique, Wabi-Sabi, Mingei
Located in Katori-Shi, 12
This low table was loved by craftsmen as a "workbench" during the Meiji period. The wood grain, which has deepened with age, is reminiscent of the warm lifestyle of that time. A cu...
Wood
French Antique Gueridon Side Table, Gold Leaf & Black Wood, 1920s
Located in Austin, TX
Side table or gueridon from France made of solid wood construction that features a gold-leafed finish and a black painted top mimicking marble. Hand carving can be found throughout a...
Gold Leaf
Sold
H 29.93 in W 37.01 in D 15.56 in
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
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 14.18 in W 29.93 in D 13.39 in
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
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