DASING Japan Art Warehouse currently has 186 pieces online, including tea ceremony utensils, Ko-Imari porcelain, maki-e lacquer and metalwork from the Edo to Shōwa periods. Each comes with its history and a record of its craftsmanship, awaiting the discerning collector.
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A Japanese kimono shop sign made of metal, with a strong Shōwa-era style. It depicts a Japanese woman in traditional kimono, in bright colours and fine detail, showing the elegance and beauty of Japanese kimono culture of the time. This metal sign is both a collectible vintage piece and a decoration that adds classic charm to a space.
This wooden shop sign for grey-hair dye dates from the Edo period in Japan; a historical artefact of considerable collecting value, it expresses the distinctive beauty of the commercial culture and craft of its time. Made of wood and weathered by the years, it bears the marks of history and has a strongly rustic character.
This early Western tin sign is part of the advertising for Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound, showing the vintage advertising style of the late 19th or early 20th century. Lydia E. Pinkham's herbal formula was a very popular women's health product at the time, and the brand was well known for its distinctive marketing and advertising design.
A Shōwa-period SS Pharmaceutical sign from the classic era of the Japanese pharmaceutical industry, with strong Shōwa-era character. It is a three-dimensional advertising figure in the form of a rabbit, playful and highly recognisable in design, reflecting the importance the pharmaceutical industry then placed on creativity and consumer appeal. Placed in pharmacies and shops, it served mainly to attract customers and convey the brand's values.
A copper police sign from Japan's Shōwa period, the lettering hand spray-painted, reading “京都府木津警察署 市坂警察官駐在所” (Kyōto Prefecture Kizu Police Station, Ichisaka Police Officer's Residential Post). Judging from the text, the sign most likely belonged to the Ichisaka chūzaisho, a local police unit once located in what is now Kizugawa City in southern Kyōto Prefecture, and served as the official identification sign of that local police post. Made of copper plate, it is solid and heavy in feel, and the natural oxidation and aging of the surface give it a strong period character, presenting a highly authentic historical appearance and an industrial style.
An old wooden sign from a Kumano Shrine in Japan — a genuine old piece that has weathered the years. The board is made of solid wood, with a calm weight and stable structure. The surface is carved with text relating to “熊野神社” (Kumano Shrine), and it was probably one of the exterior-wall or gatepost signs used by a shrine in the Shōwa period or earlier. The characters are hand-carved, the strokes vigorous and powerful with clear variations in depth, showing the carver's skill and a simple, archaic aesthetic. The board has natural cracks, erosion and traces of history, which are not flaws but marks of the piece's age and part of its value.
A double-sided old wooden sign from Japan, dating from before the Shōwa era. The front is carved with the words “家秘一元丹” (Kahi Ichigentan), one of the phrases used on signs by folk pharmacies of the time selling secret-formula medicines. “Ichigentan” refers to an affordable household remedy with wide-ranging effects, carrying the idea that “one dose cures a hundred ills”; “kahi” (family secret) stresses that the formula was handed down within the shop's family, making it distinctive and highly trusted. The back is carved “呉服大賣物類”, meaning the sale of fabrics, kimono and related goods. This vividly reflects the character of Japanese popular commercial culture from the late Edo period through the Taishō and early Shōwa periods, when a single shop often combined several trades, selling both medicines and textiles and sundries to meet the everyday needs of ordinary people and adapt to economic change. This multi-trade model not only shows the flexibility of local merchants but also created streetscapes rich in cultural memory. (With an iron hanging hook; can be wall-mounted or hung for display as is.)
An old Japanese wooden sign in Shōwa-era style, made from a thick cedar board that retains weathering and natural cracks from age, giving it strong nostalgic charm. An old iron sickle hangs in the center of the board, together with a white hand-painted Japanese slogan, 「かまわぬから 御自由におくつろぎ下さい」, which translates literally as “Don't worry about a thing — please make yourself at home and relax.” Slogans like this were often seen in earlier years at the entrances of rural inns, eateries, hot-spring guesthouses and local shops, conveying a warm attitude that is friendly, open and easygoing. The arrangement is natural and unaffected, and it is highly effective in creating atmosphere in a space.
A standing wooden sign from a Shōwa-period Japanese chemical-fertilizer dealer. In the mid-Shōwa period Japanese agriculture modernized rapidly, and promotional items for kasei hiryō (compound fertilizer) were widely seen. On this sign the characters are carved in intaglio and then filled with gold lacquer, the lettering heavy and showing the feel of hand-cut knife work, together with a vermilion emblem at the top and the words “exclusive dealer / licensed”, reflecting the importance placed on brands and patents at the time. Hanging holes, wear from use, knocks at the edges and corners, some fading and the patina of age are visible — traces of a genuine working sign removed from a home or business. It is complete overall with clear lettering, carrying a strong period feel of Shōwa commercial design and local character.
A small jewelry cabinet made in Kobe in 1952, crafted in STERLING SILVER. The double-door body is finely engraved with flowers and foliage, and the doors, hinges and clasps show layers of classical metalwork. Over the years the silver has naturally oxidized into varied tones and signs of use, making the delicate engraving stand out more vividly in light and shadow.
Wearing an ornate jeweled crown, draped in celestial robes and necklaces, the figure sits in the "royal ease" posture, one leg raised and the other hanging naturally, capturing the graceful, relaxed pose of Water-Moon Guanyin. The face is lowered with a calm expression, and the bronze-toned finish is naturally deep and steady — well suited to a tea room, study or quiet space.
Every piece has weathered centuries. We bring an exacting, professional approach to antique art to every handover and delivery.
We keep searching all over Japan for antiques and vintage pieces with character — ceramics, tea ceremony utensils, vases, wood carvings, furniture and Shōwa-era goods — and bring them across the sea to DASING.
Items are photographed as they are, showing color, texture, detail and actual appearance as closely as possible, so buying online comes closer to seeing them in person.
Antiques often show wear, oxidation, kiln flaws, repairs or other signs of age. We show these as fully as we can in photos and item descriptions, so you can understand each piece before deciding to buy.
