Add a touch of Japan to your interior this winter. The Pacific Northwest has a rich array of Japanese furniture and art to choose from.

Classic

The proprietors of Ming’s Asian Gallery in Bellevue and Seattle have been bringing antiques from around the world to the Pacific Northwest since 1966. But it wasn’t until 1980 that the store turned its focus solely to Asia, Jim Russell says. The store’s collection is vast and deep, with treasures from China, Tibet, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Korea, Myanmar, Cambodia and Japan. Its Zen Collection of Japanese antiques were “harder to get in abundance,” Russell says, but persistent traveling and deal making in the country for the past three decades has given the store strong connections.
The gallery feels like a museum. A display of samurai armor selling for $6,800 sits on a shelf; an exquisite kimono hangs from the wall, displayed like a piece of art; and by the cash register is an impressive collection of netsuke sculptures. It’s clear the collection has been assembled with a discerning eye.     
In fact, the family has had a special taste for Japanese items since the 1950s, when Russell’s mother and father collected porcelain. The store boasts an impressive collection of Japanese textiles as well.    
Some of the most interesting pieces are modern takes on the classic antiques. A tansu that can stack and unstack both vertically and horizontally is a good fit for a family that may use the chest of drawers in different ways and in different rooms over the years. Screens done by modern painters accent a room in an elegant way. Russell says antique Japanese dolls are some of the store’s biggest sellers.    
While Ming’s caters to everyone from hardcore collectors to academics, lately, the store has noticed a rise in the number of young Asian people shopping there. “Young people want to have part of their history,” Russell says. Walking through the beautiful offerings of Ming’s Asian Gallery, it’s easy to see why.

The Zen Collection at Ming’s includes a complete set of samurai armor ($6,800), beautiful kimonos displayed as wall art and a fascinating collection of Japanese dolls — one of the stores most popular items. Photos by Doug Sims.

Hybrid

If you ever wondered what the Japanese concept of wabi sabi referred to, one glance around the Kobo @ Higo gallery, shop and meeting place in Seattle’s International District should explain it. This unique space is alive with the tasteful restraint implied by wabi and the refined rustic sense of sabi.
This gallery and its sister gallery in the Capitol Hill neighborhood are run by John Bisbee and Binko Chiong-Bisbee. In the International District store, the couple has created a space to showcase the work of craftspeople inspired by Japan and other cultures. It’s a place where customers go to understand “the process of how things are made,” John Bisbee says.
Kobo @ Higo showcases some of the most innovative craftsmanship in the Pacific Northwest, including the contemporary and sustainable furniture of Go Green Design in Ballard and the wonderful mix of traditional and modern created by Rom Lee. Lee designed the Artifact Table, which incorporates people’s family heirlooms into modern furniture. On display recently at Kobo @ Higo was a glass table showing off an old koto. The piece seems to embody the Kobo approach.
“We tell people when we show them these pieces, this is not made in a factory; it was made by a person. And we know who it is and we can tell you about that person,” Bisbee says.
Right next door to Kobo is Momo, a boutique and consignment shop run by Luann Shiramizu. The eclectic shop is a place for local homeowners to bring family heirlooms they can no longer keep but don’t want to throw away. Perhaps people are downsizing their home, or an elderly parent has passed away. Momo accepts pieces on consignment as long as they are appropriate for the store. “We want it to go to a good home with the same familial energy,” says Shiramizu.

Kobo @ Higo features a gallery space where beautiful pieces can shine.	Browse the shelves of Kobo and neighbor Momo. They’re always chock-full of objets and knick-knacks from Asia.

Playful

A touch of Japan in your home doesn’t have to cost a lot. Momo and Kobo offer many inexpensive options for accenting a room. At Momo you can pick up a sash made from discarded kimono material and use it as a table rider. Or purchase a kokeshi doll as a table ornament. At Kobo you can find bilingual calendars featuring the woodblock prints of Clifton Karhu You can also find natural interior objects such as African nobs and sunset flowers to brighten a room. And there are modern prints from enfu (a regular Ibuki contributor; see page 24), Toshi Asai and many other established and up-and-coming artists.
Kobo always has a beautiful array of ceramics and pottery on display too (Binko studied ceramics in Tokyo, and she and John are passionate about the country’s mingei folk craft), as well as textiles and lots of books to help generate ideas.        
Thus a one-block stretch of Seattle on Sixth and Jackson in the International District and a two-block walk down Sixth to Ming’s Asian Gallery can connect you with a treasure trove of Japanese furniture and art. Or as Momo’s Shiramizu puts it, “a dash of Japanese flavor for your home.”

Momo’s recycled kimono sashes (left) make beautiful table riders. Sculptural lighting by HiiH (pronounced “Hi Hi”) adorned Kobo @ Higo in late 2009.	The scroll-like Clifton Karhu calendar for 2010 features some of the renowned artist’s most impressive woodblock prints.

SPECIAL FEATURE: Bringing Japan Home

Bringing Japan Home Add a touch of Japan to your interior this winter. The Pacific Northwest has a rich array of Japanese furniture and art to choose from..	Japanese furniture & art fit well in the Pacific Northwest Clean lines, craftsmanship and a reverence for natural materials. That description of the guiding aesthetic behind Japanese architecture..	Japanese Art on the Wall Seattle is home to several vibrant galleries that specialize in Japanese woodblock prints, contemporary Japanese art and hand-colored photos..