The Japonista Universe

Welcome to the Japonista Universe: our encyclopaedia of Japanese culture and cool-ture, written for collectors and for anyone who loves Japan. It gathers dictionaries, glossaries, directories, care guides and essays into one library, organised as volumes, and links every entry to the pieces in our collection that bring it to life.

Each volume grows with every season. The Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen is complete; the others are being written now, and their first chapters are open below. For dates, sizes, colours and customs, turn to the Almanac; for buying and importing, to the Collector’s Desk.

I. Buddhism and Zen

Deities, schools, ideas, altars and the sacred sculpture of Japan, in more than 120 linked entries.

• The Japonista Dictionary of Buddhism and Zen: The front door to the volume, with every family and an A to Z index.
• How to Read a Buddhist Statue: Rank, hands, posture, attributes and pedestal, in order.
• The Four Ranks of Buddhist Deities: Buddhas, bodhisattvas, wisdom kings and devas.
• Kannon Bosatsu: The bodhisattva of compassion and her many forms.
• Fudō Myōō: The immovable wisdom king, sword and rope in hand.
• What Is a Butsudan?: The household altar, its parts and its care.
• Zen Gardens: Stone, sand and the art of emptiness.

In the collection: Buddhist statues, Butsudan and altars.

II. Samurai, Arms and Armour

The warrior class through the objects it left behind: armour, helmets, sword mountings and the papers that let them travel.

• Samurai Armour: Yoroi: Construction, schools and periods of Japanese armour.
• Why Collect Japanese Armour: The case for yoroi as sculpture and history.
• Glossary of Samurai Armour Parts: Every plate, lace and cord named.
• Kabuto: The Samurai Helmet: Bowls, crests and the makers who signed them.
• Glossary of Sword Fittings: Tsuba, fuchi-kashira, menuki and kozuka.
• Tsuba: Sword Guards: Schools, metals and how to judge a guard.
• Koshirae: Sword Mountings: The dress of the Japanese sword.
• Sword Registration and Export: The papers a blade needs to leave Japan.

In the collection: Samurai arts, Militaria.

III. Craft and Material Arts

Clay, lacquer, metal, cloth, paper and wood: the materials of Japanese craft, the towns that worked them and how to care for them.

• Japanese Arts and Cultural Heritage: An overview of the traditional arts.
• Directory of Japanese Kilns: The great pottery towns, from Arita to Bizen.
• Living National Treasures in Ceramics: The potters Japan honours most.
• Glossary of Ceramics Terms: Glazes, clays, forms and firing.
• Imari Porcelain: Export wares and the Arita kilns.
• Kutani Ware: Bold enamels from Ishikawa.
• Bizen Ware: Unglazed stoneware marked by fire.
• Kintsugi: The art of golden repair.
• Glossary of Lacquer Techniques: Maki-e, raden, negoro and more.
• Maki-e and Urushi: How Japanese lacquer is made and judged.
• Directory of Tetsubin Makers: Cast-iron kettles and their foundries.
• Meiji Bronzes of Takaoka: Cast metalwork for the world fairs.
• Jizai Okimono: Articulated metal creatures.
• The Tea Ceremony and Chagama: Iron kettles and the way of tea.
• Glossary of Tea Utensils: Every object of the tea room.
• Tea Bowl Shapes: A glossary of chawan forms.
• Kimono and Textile Heritage: Weaves, dyes and the language of cloth.
• Glossary of Kimono Terms: Garments, fabrics and techniques.
• Boro: Mended indigo patchwork.
• Glossary of Washi Paper: Japanese handmade paper.
• Glossary of Netsuke Terms: Toggles, inrō and the sagemono.
• Netsuke and Inrō: Miniature sculpture worn at the belt.
• Noh Masks: Types, makers and collecting.
• Mingei: Folk Art: The beauty of everyday things.
• Tansu: Traditional chests and cabinets.
• Japanese Dolls: Ningyō from the court to the festival.

In the collection: Porcelain and ceramics, Tea ceremony, Netsuke and inrō.

IV. Prints, Painting and Calligraphy

Ukiyo-e, shin-hanga, scrolls and screens, and the seals and signatures that identify them.

• Ukiyo-e: Pictures of the floating world.
• Glossary of Ukiyo-e Terms: Editions, formats and states.
• Directory of Print Publishers: The houses behind the prints.
• The Great Wave: Impressions and editions of Hokusai.
• Hiroshige: The Tōkaidō and the views of Edo.
• Shin-hanga: The new prints of Hasui and Yoshida.
• Sōsaku-hanga: The creative print movement.
• Scrolls and Byōbu Screens: Painting as architecture.
• Signatures and Seals: Reading the marks on a painting.
• Nihonga Materials: Mineral pigments and glue.
• Caring for Hanging Scrolls: Hanging, rolling and storing.

In the collection: Woodblock prints, Scrolls and screens.

V. Bonsai, Suiseki and the Scholar’s Desk

Living trees, viewing stones, the pots and stands that frame them, and the rules for sending them abroad.

• Bonsai Pots of Tokoname: The kilns behind the finest hachi.
• Suiseki: Viewing stones and their stands.
• Ikebana Vessels: Kaki for flower arrangement.

In the collection: Bonsai and suiseki, Ikebana vessels.

VI. Showa Toys and Cool-ture

Tin plate robots, soft vinyl monsters, anime art and the soft power that carried them around the world.

• Directory of Showa Tin Toy Makers: The workshops of postwar Tokyo.
• Showa Tin Plate and Soft Vinyl: A collector’s introduction.
• Why Collect Horikawa: The robots of Horikawa Toys.
• Why Collect Sci-fi Robots: The atomic-age dream in tin.
• Steel Dreams of the Atomic Age: An essay on the space-age toy.
• Kaiju Soft Vinyl: Marusan, Bullmark and the monster boom.
• Jumbo Machinder: The giant robots of the 1970s.
• Tokusatsu Heroes: Masked heroes and their toys.
• Glossary of Toy Terms: Boxes, mechanisms and condition.
• Caring for Tin Toys: Rust, lithography and storage.
• Glossary of Anime Collectibles: Cels, settei and limited editions.
• Anime Production Cels: Hand-painted frames from the studio.
• From Vinyl to Vault: The designer figure as archive.
• Japan’s Soft Power, Explained: How culture became a national export.
• Engineered Soft Power: From Meiji modernity to Cool Japan.

In the collection: Vintage toys, Anime art, 2000s pop culture.

VII. Fashion: Amekaji, Wagara and the Street

The souvenir jacket, selvedge denim, wagara patterns and the subcultures that wore them.

• What Is a Sukajan?: The souvenir jacket explained.
• The Sukajan: Definition and Roots: Construction, embroidery and history.
• Sukajan Brand List: The makers, old and new.
• How to Read a Sukajan: Tigers, dragons, eagles and maps.
• What Is Amekaji?: American casual, made in Japan.
• Ametora: American trad and Japanese precision.
• Directory of Japanese Denim Brands: Okayama, Kojima and the selvedge revival.
• Kojima Selvedge Denim: The jeans capital of Japan.
• What Is Wagara?: Japanese patterns in modern clothing.
• Wagara Patterns Explained: Seigaiha, asanoha, kikkō and more.
• Wagara Brands: A guide to the labels.
• Yakuza and Bōsōzoku Clothing: Embroidered rebellion.
• Bōsōzoku and Tokkōfuku: Biker gang style and its coats.
• Directory of Japanese Fashion Designers: From Miyake to the archive labels.
• Japanese Designer Archives: Collecting runway pieces.
• Garment Sizing Guide: Japanese sizes converted.

In the collection: Amekaji and wagara, Sukajan jackets, Yakuza and bōsōzoku.

VIII. Watches, Cameras, Golf and Sound

Japanese precision: independent watchmakers, the great maisons of Seiko and Citizen, rangefinders, forged irons and hi-fi.

• Japanese Independent Horology: The new generation of makers.
• Hajime Asaoka: Tokyo watchmaking at its most refined.
• Masahiro Kikuno: Temporal-hour clocks for the wrist.
• Naoya Hida: Hand engraving and quiet dials.
• Otsuka Lotec: Mechanical displays from a home workshop.
• Directory of Japanese Watch Brands: From Grand Seiko to the independents.
• Glossary of Watch Terms: Calibres, complications and condition.
• Grand Seiko and Credor: The summit of Seiko.
• King Seiko and Grand Seiko: The 1960s rivalry.
• Japanese Rangefinders: Canon and Nikon before the SLR.
• Directory of Japanese Golf Brands: Forged irons from Niigata to Hyōgo.
• Honma, Beres and Miura: A guide to Japanese clubs.
• Accuphase and Luxman: Japanese hi-fi.

In the collection: Watches.

IX. The Luxury Archive

Why Japan is the world’s finest market for pre-owned luxury, and how to read the maisons’ codes.

• Why Japan Leads in Pre-owned Luxury: Condition, care and culture.
• Japanese Condition Ranks: From N to C, explained.
• Glossary of Luxury Terms: The vocabulary of pre-owned luxury.
• Antique Louis Vuitton Trunks: Wardrobes, couriers and serials.
• Date Codes and Serials: Louis Vuitton and Chanel.
• Hermès Blind Stamps: Dating a Hermès piece.
• Mikimoto Pearls: The Akoya tradition.
• Japanese Hallmarks: Gold and platinum marks.
• Caring for Luxury Leather: Storage, humidity and handling.
• Caring for Silver Jewellery: Tarnish and storage.
• Japanese Ring Sizes: Converted to every system.

In the collection: Luxury archive, Louis Vuitton trunks.

The Almanac

The calendar, the measures and the customs that sit behind Japanese objects.

• Japanese Era Names (Nengō): Reading dates from Meiji to Reiwa.
• The Japanese Zodiac (Eto): The twelve animals and the sixty-year cycle.
• Numerals and Dates on Boxes: Reading the writing on a box.
• Glossary of Box Inscriptions: Hakogaki, signatures and seals.
• Traditional Measurements: Shaku, sun and tsubo.
• Traditional Japanese Colours: The names of colour.
• Japanese Gift Customs: Wrapping, seasons and etiquette.
• Japanese Shoe Sizes: Centimetres converted.

The Collector’s Desk

Practical guides for buying, examining and importing from Japan.

• Collector Guides: Every guide, category by category.
• Before You Buy: A collector’s checklist.
• Authenticity Guarantee: How every piece is examined in Japan.
• Import Duties: What customs may charge.
• Importing Large and Heavy Pieces: Crates, freight and brokers.
• Questions and Answers: The questions collectors ask most.

Essays on Japanese Aesthetics

The ideas that run through every volume.

• Japonisme: How Japan changed Western art.
• Wabi-sabi: Beauty in imperfection, for collectors.
• Miyabi: The courtly aesthetic of refinement.
• Tatemae and Honne: Quiet outsides, noisy insides.
• Archival Thinking: Why Japan keeps everything.
• The Japonista Manifesto: What we believe.

Ask the curator desk

Looking for a piece that belongs in one of these volumes? Our curator desk searches Japan on your behalf; replies follow within 1–3 business days. Every piece is examined in Japan, carries our authenticity guarantee and travels insured and tracked. All sales are final.