Mitsui Fine Arts

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Mitsui Fine Arts

Mitsui Fine Art discovers and acquires works of Japanese art, craft, and design that have a deep connection with your contemporary lifestyle.

Just as you are a unique individual with a distinct personality, every artwork has its soul. Mitsui Fine Arts offers an alternative experience for collecting the finest Japanese art, craft, and design —one in which the buyer may enter into Misako Mitsui's meditative, idiosyncratic world. She always invites you into her realm of knowledge by sharing the stories and lore of the objects she offers in

the gallery. Experience Japanese art and design that unites your collection, lifestyle, sophistication, and soul. Let Mitsui Fine Art Gallery guide you on your journey to find your soul work. Learn more about artworks on the gallery, shows, and Japanese culture by subscribing to our bi-monthly newsletter.

05/13/2023

1943Katakuchi
Tetsuo Hirakawa ( 1943 - )
3 ½” X 5 ½”

This vessel is called Katakuchi, a bowl with a spout. According to Tetsuo Hirakawa, the artist who created the piece,

Japanese have produced Katakuchi since the Jomon Era (14,000 BC - 300 BC). The most crucial moment in making Katakuchi is when he puts the “spout.” At that moment, the vessel comes alive with a character.

Hirakawa continues,
“I want to express earth under our feet at stratum level through my pottery. I find the clay I like, dig it up, shape it, fire it with my glaze, and make a vessel that can contain water like a caveman did.

He communicates with the earth through clay. The communication reaches us through his work.

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05/11/2023

24 + 3 stamps/chops/seals in a box

It is chops/seals in a box from early 1900, used in business. There are 12 oblong and 12 elliptic ones. They all have two kanji Characters. Every 12 Oblong has a character spring (春) and one of the 12 signs of the Japanese/Chinese zodiac to indicate years. Every 12 Elliptic one has a character autumn (秋) and one of the 12 signs of the Japanese/Chinese zodiac. As such, there are 24 chops to indicate two seasons of 12 years. I hope my explanation is clear. (by the way, unfortunately, the face of the +3 chops is illegible.)

It is equivalent to today's self-inking date stamps, such as in the last photo, which also is becoming obsolete. It is interesting to imagine how people in a century ahead will look at it.

05/09/2023

The first Western-style sweet Japanese learned from Portugal about 400 years ago.

A friend came back from Japan and brought me my favorite sweets, カステーラ, castella by Fukusaya(thank you, Haruko-san). Castella is a sweet and moist cake similar to sponge cake. It is not only delicious but also has a fascinating history. It is first brought to Japan by the Portuguese. When the Japanese asked, “what is this?” they answered, “Bolo de Castella.” Japanese shortened the answer, named it Castella, and learned how to make it from it. Its recipe was tweaked many times, and Castella stayed and became one of the popular sweets in Japan. Fukusaya is one of the oldest brands, and the founder is believed to have learned the recipe directly from the Portuguese about 400 years ago. They make the best castella, in my opinion.

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05/06/2023

Wisteria and my maiden name:⁠
⁠
My maiden name is Endo, 遠藤; it has two characters, far and wisteria.⁠
My grandparents told me our name means "wisteria seen from afar." It's nice.

05/04/2023

Art of Tying Chapter 3⁠
⁠
Another place where we can find the art of tying is the bamboo gate and brushwood gate. Those simple gates enhance the natural look and Wabi sensitivity as the entrance to a garden. When I innocently shipped a gorgeous brushwood gate from Kyoto to San Rafael, California, the custom confiscated it. Because the gate contains plants. 😶

05/02/2023

Art of Tying: Chapter 2.⁠
⁠
Tying vegetables or other food: ⁠
Simple Bamboo strings can be used to bundle vegetable or dried seaweed. Farmers and Fishermen know how to tie food gently to the food yet tight enough and untie it with one pull. They look like the last touch of dressing them up before they shipped. Sadly they are disappearing. ⁠
⁠
I am a sucker for the cords and use them in many places. Here are some from my collection.

04/29/2023

Toshiro Kawase arranges flowers, chapter 3⁠
⁠
Here is the quote from an introduction page for the flower ceremony, including Kawase's words in both Japanese and English. ⁠
© 青花の会, Seikanokai, published by Seikanokai, www.kogei-seika.jp⁠
⁠
"On the sixth and seventh of November last year, Tashiro Kawase (b. I 948) held the flower ceremony entitled 'Mukyu' meaning 'Eternity' at the Koho-an, Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto. The party was undoubtedly the culmination of the Ikebana artist, which future generations recall as the one who revived the two classical styles of Ikebana, i.e., Tatehana (formal style to arrange flowers in an upright position) and Nage¬ ire(freestyle arrangement)."⁠
……⁠
(Kawase wrote)⁠
"I sought a flower that goes beyond the performing arts and leads to the origin of life⁠
⁠
⁠
The hanging scroll on the last image reads Mukyū, meaning Eternity, the title of this flower ceremony.⁠
I have admired, studied, worshipped, and adored him for a long time. ⁠
⁠
What do you think of his arrangements?

04/22/2023

Toshiro Kawase arranges flowers, chapter 3

Here is the quote from an introduction page for the flower ceremony, including Kawase's words in both Japanese and English.
© 青花の会, Seikanokai, published by Seikanokai, www.kogei-seika.jp

"On the sixth and seventh of November last year, Tashiro Kawase (b. I 948) held the flower ceremony entitled 'Mukyu' meaning 'Eternity' at the Koho-an, Daitokuji Temple in Kyoto. The party was undoubtedly the culmination of the Ikebana artist, which future generations recall as the one who revived the two classical styles of Ikebana, i.e., Tatehana (formal style to arrange flowers in an upright position) and Nage¬ ire(freestyle arrangement)."
……
(Kawase wrote)
"I sought a flower that goes beyond the performing arts and leads to the origin of life

The hanging scroll on the last image reads Mukyū, meaning Eternity, the title of this flower ceremony.
I have admired, studied, worshipped, and adored him for a long time.

What do you think of his arrangements?

04/20/2023

Toshiro Kawase arranges flowers, chapter 2⁠
⁠
I subscribe to this publication limited to 1000 per issue. 工芸青花、Kogeiseika is a book (not a magazine) published by Seikanokai with three volumes delivered each calendar year. I crave its arrival, and once it arrives, all my will and routine surrender to devour the newly arrived book from Japan.

04/18/2023

Toshiro Kawase arranges flowers, chapter 2⁠

Here are the images of the flower arrangement by Toshiro Kawase, a genius flower arranger: His arrangements strike you as when you stand in front of Picasso's blue period works. such as "woman in a shawl."
The images are from vol.18 of Kogeiseika, published by Seikanokai. © 青花の会, Seikanokai

04/15/2023

The delicate nature of these bowls is pushed so far to be only describable as sheer beauty.

They tell a story of lines and colors.

Evoking the feeling of a line drawing come to life, with their crisp sharp edge, clean curve, and elegant colors of decadent merlot reds and deep plum violets.

Cafe lattes would be lovely beverage pairings for using the two smaller bowls.

A mixed green salad with the bigger one would make an elegant addition to lunch for yourself. In the patio.

04/13/2023

Created from the union of the craftsmen’s’ hands, nature, and centuries of ceramic tradition; this bowl, though it may appear to be an artifact of an era long past, is a contemporary creation from the master ceramicist Tsuruno Keiji.

When this bowl first entered my hand, I was invited to a private event where each guest brought their favorite bowl, and the featured master chef would prepare a flavorful experience inspired by the piece. This tea bowl inspired the chef to create a rich hojicha latte with the powdered Hojicha tea leaf dusted lightly over the top. Its creator, Mr. Tsuruno was a guest of honor at this event. He was so enamored by the preparation, that he asked me to borrow his own creation back for a little while. He requested that the hojicha latte be made again so he too could experience the added sensory component that his work inspired.

Tsuruno Keiji’s ceramic works invite you to be inspired and to let them be the vessel for a story of the senses. The craftsperson and all stewards of this bowl become a part of the story. What will this white glazed tea bowl inspire you to fill it with?

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http://www.mitsuifinearts.com/

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Our Story

Mitsui Fine Arts is uniquely positioned to show you the way to build your art collection or find you a single art object to cherish. I source and sell Japanese art, early craft, and design. My family (Endo) and that of my late husband (Mitsui) have been deeply embedded in the enlightened merchant class of Kyoto since the 18th century. Once known as the Machi-shu, this facet of society has always been closely involved in the Way of Tea. I’m one of the very last generation to have received training in the aesthetic traditions. This came about partly because I grew up in Kyoto, which was spared the bombing of WWII and the subsequent rebuilding that rapidly modernized the rest of Japan. In Kyoto, the old customs endured. And, because I’m an only child, my father and grandfather raised me as they might have raised a male heir to our family kimono business, imbuing me with a deep and instinctive understanding of our art and culture. The time feels right for Mitsui Fine Arts to connect a new audience with the Japanese artworks I’ve been pursuing all my life. Today, I sense a highly sophisticated appetite for excellent works of art, craft, and design attuned with the high culture of old Kyoto -- and a desire to enjoy them comfortably in contemporary life. Whether you seek one singular object or wish to build a collection, trust me to be your guide.