Japanese furniture

A Bit of Cosmic Luck…Shrine Sale Synchronicity

My advice to new expats includes the caveat for a small escape clause, often timed to that six month-or-so point (dip?) in the experience. After mulling over the mysteries of the cosmos in my last post, I am taking my own counsel, spurred on by a little February calendar magic. I’m headed out tonight for the lovely land of Nippon and will be in Tokyo over the weekend. As luck would have it, the 28th this month – better known in some Tokyo circles as Kawagoe shrine sale day – falls on a Friday, nicely followed by an entire weekend of other shrine sales around the Tokyo area. Three days of uninterrupted antiquing, plus lots of eating and best of all, seeing friends.

I’m not the only one thinking about things Japanese these days. The March issues of the major shelter magazines brought a rush of antiques, mostly in the form of tansu, which while always unusual to spy, was made more so because there were so many of them! House Beautiful featured a new construction Sonoma property that had a zen-like feel even before I learned the owners had formerly lived in Japan. Designed by Rela Gleason, who brings a multicultural viewpoint and proficiency in mixing in Asian antiques, it has a few standout pieces like this iron strapped tansu…

…and the real yowsa piece, this massive mizuya tansu in the bedroom. I’m always preaching these large pieces in lieu of built-in cabinetry, whether it be in the kitchen (where they were designed for) or better yet, in the bedroom, where they can hold massive amounts of clothing and extra bedding. The contemporary bed in indigo plays off the other vintage pieces from the trunk to the herbiers. All things close to my heart as you well know.

Elle Decor featured a Joe D’Urso designed double NYC brownstone, the kind that has had its facades restored but the interior completely blown out. A skylit living room laden with well stocked book shelves has a lovely tansu tucked in the corner…

…but the yowsa piece here has to be the 17th century byobu of pines on a golden background in the master bedroom. Again, the Japanese antiques look so fresh when paired with the modern spaces and furniture.

So I’ll leave you salivating over these lovely pieces as I go off to pack my suitcase – very lightly so as to leave plenty of space! I have a few client requests that I am searching for, so let me know if there is anything you need or want (aren’t they the same thing?) I’ll be posting live from Instagram as I find things too. Details on the shrine sale schedule this weekend can be found here, as always. And as for my Japan based readers, I am hoping to see you all out at Kawagoe on the 28th. Please be sure to say hello!

Feb 25, 2014 By tokyojinja in Furniture, Interior Design, Shrine Sales and Flea Markets, Travel Tags: byobu, japanese antiques, Japanese art, Japanese furniture, Japanese screens, Joe D'Urso, Rela Gleason, tansu

What Do Giorgio Armani and Alex Kerr Have in Common?

“Instead Armani’s interiors possess the formal grace of a Japanese ryokan, only darker in tone and significantly more luxurious.”
-Mitchell Owens in Architectural Digest March 2012

While working on my sayonara series of posts, I had photos of fashion designer Giorgio Armani’s ski chalet in Switzerland from the March issue of Architectural Digest queued up for use. The design featured some tansu used in dramatic ways, but something about the entire home struck a chord with me and I decided to set it aside until I could figure out what it was. It came to me in that magic way ideas can just germinate in a passive mind in a calm moment, that the home felt Japanese in more ways than just the few pieces of furniture. It reminded me of a similar spread on author and Japanologist Alex Kerr’s famous renovation – or more accurately rescue and restoration – of an old Japanese home, also featured in AD, but about ten years ago.

Since then I have managed to read the article accompanying the Armani photos and it makes no bones about the parallel to Japanese design. Armani’s La Punt, Switzerland winter getaway is a restored 17th century barn that has been converted into a sleekly modern ski home, in a very Japanese vernacular. It is not surprising that the gleaming mahogany walls, floors and beams and streamlined furniture coupled with Japanese antiques, including half of a tansu hiding behind the sofa in the photo below, in the soaring cavernous space, remind me of…

…Alex Kerr’s restored 18th century farmhouse in the Iya Valley. In addition to writing Lost Japan and Dogs and Demons, Kerr has become one of the standard bearers in the movement to preserve Japan’s vanishing arts, culture and traditional lifestyle in the face of globalization and modernization.

Beamed details and grid-like wall pattern around the hearth at Armani’s…

…beamed details and grid-like built-ins around the hearth at Kerr’s.

Upstairs at Armani’s place, a pair of fraternal twin tansu stand guard on either side of the window in the bedroom.

Upstairs at Alex Kerr’s there are at least a quintuplet of tansu siblings, including the kaidan tansu on the left and assorted mizuya tansu around the room.

Simple beds, low to the ground and fireplaces with little adornment are common…

…at both homes.

I think Kerr’s place is more romantic, but I am sure Armani’s is more comfy!

Image credits: Giorgio Armani’s home in Architectural Digest March 2012, photo credits: Roger Davies, Alex Kerr’s home in Architectural Digest August 2002, photo credits: Erhard Pfeiffer

Jun 8, 2012 By tokyojinja in Books, Movies & TV, Furniture, Interior Design Tags: Alex Kerr, Giorgio Armani, japanese antiques, Japanese design, Japanese furniture, tansu