Japanese Gallery Kensington

Japanese Gallery Kensington Buy Japanese Art Online - Ukiyo-e woodblock prints, lacquerware, metalware, ceramics. Japanese Antiques and Contemporary Art.

Japanese Gallery Kensington holds one of the largest collections of Japanese antiques in the world. The gallery has a large variety of Japanese artefacts, such as 13th century Japanese swords, lacquer wares, ukiyo-e woodblock prints and exquisite ceramics. Entering the gallery is like visiting a museum, except it is possible to hold the objects that fascinate you in your hands. Established in 1977

, the gallery is currently located in the world renowned antiques district of Kensington. We regularly advise and assist in authentication for museums, auction houses and educational institutions. Information relating to Japanese art and antiques is available on our website as an educational resource.

“Those who do not learn from yesterday, nor know what tomorrow may bring, may have only today to live.”, attributed to Y...
01/09/2026

“Those who do not learn from yesterday, nor know what tomorrow may bring, may have only today to live.”, attributed to Yoshimoto Imagawa
In 1560, Yoshimoto Imagawa led a powerful army into Owari, where he faced the much smaller forces of Nobunaga Oda.
At Okehazama, heavy rain swept across the battlefield before Nobunaga’s forces reached Yoshimoto’s position. Yoshimoto fought back, but ultimately lost his life in the clash.
Nearly three centuries later, Kuniyoshi Utagawa depicted his final moments in Night Rain at Narumi.
Under driving rain, Yoshimoto makes his final stand. The verse inscribed above the scene also recalls the rain at Okehazama and Mōri, the warrior traditionally credited with ending Yoshimoto’s life.
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Artist: Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1798-1861)
Title: Night Rain at Narumi, Inagawa Yoshioto
Series: Eight Views of Military Glory
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28/08/2026

As September approaches, we look at the special place the moon has long held in Japanese culture.
From tsukimi and the many names given to the moon, to Tsukioka Yosh*toshi’s One Hundred Aspects of the Moon, its changing forms have inspired generations of Japanese artists.

24/08/2026

As summer draws to a close, we look back at the centuries-old tradition of fireworks at Ryogoku.
Dating back to the eighteenth century, the displays became one of Edo’s great summer spectacles, with crowds and pleasure boats gathering along the Sumida River.
Today, the tradition lives on in the Sumida River Fireworks Festival.

Pilgrims once carried enormous wooden swords all the way from Edo to Mount Oyama.During the Edo period, groups of crafts...
20/08/2026

Pilgrims once carried enormous wooden swords all the way from Edo to Mount Oyama.
During the Edo period, groups of craftsmen and townsmen travelled to Oyama carrying large wooden swords, or kidachi, as votive offerings, praying for protection from misfortune and the fulfilment of their wishes. Before climbing the mountain, they purified themselves beneath its waterfalls and offered the swords.
This 1860 triptych by Toyokuni III depicts kabuki actors as stylish Oyama pilgrims, in red fundoshi, with elaborate tattoos and wooden swords dedicated to Oyama Sekison Daigongen.
Oyama pilgrimage became so popular that it also found its way into kabuki and rakugo, becoming part of Edo’s wider popular culture.
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Artist: Toyokuni III Utagawa (1786-1865)
Title: Actors at the Waterfall of Oyama Sekison Shrine
Publisher: Itoya Shobei
Date: 1860
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A man stands on a tiled rooftop, jitte in hand.The man he is pursuing will one day become his ally, bound by the same fa...
07/08/2026

A man stands on a tiled rooftop, jitte in hand.
The man he is pursuing will one day become his ally, bound by the same fate.
Depicted here is Inukai Genpachi, one of the Eight Dog Warriors from Kyokutei Bakin’s epic Nanso Satomi Hakkenden, eight young men destined to come together in service of the Satomi clan.
Sent to capture the fugitive Inuzuka Shino, Genpachi confronts him on the roof of Horyukaku. Unaware that they share the same destiny, the two fight fiercely before falling from the rooftop together.
They meet as enemies, only to become allies.
Kuniyoshi captures the tension of this famous episode in Genpachi’s solitary figure, poised on the roof with his jitte.
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Artist: Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1798-1861)
Title: Inukai Gempachi from Satomi Hakkenden
Publisher: Mikawaya Tetsujiro
Date: 1847-1852

Behind the sounds of a summer festival, one of kabuki’s most famous tragedies unfolds.As summer festival season arrives ...
05/08/2026

Behind the sounds of a summer festival, one of kabuki’s most famous tragedies unfolds.
As summer festival season arrives in Japan, we revisit Natsu Matsuri Naniwa Kagami, Summer Festival: A Mirror of Osaka.
This print depicts Kawarazaki Gonjuro as the tattooed fishmonger Danshichi Kurobei. In the celebrated “Mud Scene”, an argument with his greedy father-in-law, Giheiji, descends into a violent struggle behind the festival grounds.
The contrast between the bright, lively festival and the tragedy unfolding in the darkness made this one of kabuki’s defining summer scenes.
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Artist: Kunihisa Utagawa
Title: Kabuki actor, Kawarazaki Gonjuro as Danshichi Kurobei
Kabuki Play: Summer Festival - A Mirror of Osaka

His teachers were not human.Before he became Minamoto no Yosh*tsune, one of Japan’s most celebrated and tragic warriors,...
21/07/2026

His teachers were not human.
Before he became Minamoto no Yosh*tsune, one of Japan’s most celebrated and tragic warriors, he was known as Ushiwakamaru.
According to legend, the young boy trained deep in Mt.Kurama, where tengu, supernatural beings renowned for their martial powers, taught him swordsmanship and strategy.
The skills he gained there would become part of the legend surrounding Yosh*tsune, later famous for his extraordinary agility and his encounter with the warrior monk Benkei.
Chikanobu Yoshu depicts the beginning of a hero’s journey, surrounded by the mysterious tengu of Mt.Kurama.
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Artist: Chikanobu Yoshu (1838-1912)
Title: Ushiwakamaru Training with Tengu in Mt.Kurama
Publisher: Sakaguchi Chujiro
Date: 1896
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He defeated a giant wild boar and caught the attention of the man who would later help unify Japan.According to the stor...
17/07/2026

He defeated a giant wild boar and caught the attention of the man who would later help unify Japan.
According to the story written on this print, Tokichiro, the future Toyotomi Hideyoshi, was searching for a hidden route into Inabayama Castle when he found a young warrior battling an enormous boar.
The warrior killed the animal but collapsed from exhaustion. Revived with sake and medicine, he revealed himself as Mosuke, later known as Horio Yoshiharu, and guided Tokichiro through the mountains to the castle.
Kuniyoshi transforms this legendary encounter into a scene of extraordinary movement and tension.
On the print, his name appears in disguised form as “Orio Mosuke Yasuharu”.
One wild boar. One hidden path. One encounter that changed a life.
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Artist: Kuniyoshi Utagawa (1797-1861)
Title: Orio Mosuke Yasuharu
Series: Heroes of the Grand Pacification
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Would you run from this ghost or hear what it had to say?In Japan, summer has long been associated with ghost stories.Th...
14/07/2026

Would you run from this ghost or hear what it had to say?
In Japan, summer has long been associated with ghost stories.
This print depicts Lady Iga confronting a spirit that had repeatedly appeared at the imperial court in Yoshino. Rather than fleeing, she calmly listened and discovered that it was seeking forgiveness from the Emperor.
With courage and authority, she persuaded the ghost to leave, and it was never seen at the court again.
Would you have stayed to hear what it had to say?
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Artist: Chikanobu Yoshu (1838-1912)
Title: Lady Iga
Series title: Edo Embroidery Pictures, Comparison of Day and Night
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Address

66E Kensington Church Street
London
W84BY

Opening Hours

Monday 12pm - 5pm
Tuesday 12pm - 5pm
Wednesday 12pm - 5pm
Thursday 12pm - 5pm
Friday 12pm - 5pm

Telephone

+442072292934

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