With the clocks set to “Spring forward” this weekend and the last of the Magnolia blossom desperately clinging to the trees, the long, cold Winter has finally admitted defeat and in its place, Spring has Sprung.

With that, it is time for our latest quarterly Newsletter and in this edition we take a look at some of the festivities and traditions that take place across Japan this time of year. We also celebrate the arrival of the Year of the Fire Horse. We shine a light on the celebrated Imperial ceramicist “Makuzu Kozan”, give our verdict on the “Samurai” exhibition currently on show at the British Museum and, as always, we take a look inside the gallery with some of the recent and upcoming additions to our website.

We hope you enjoy the read.

Kevin Page Oriental Art

Setsubun: The Bean throwing festival

Celebrated at the beginning of February each year, “Setsubun” is a centuries-old tradition where Japanese folk in households, schools and temples across the country scatter roasted soy beans in an attempt to drive away evil spirits and demons. The chant of “”Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!” rings out and translates as “Demons out. Good luck in!”

The practice of Setsubun serves as a cultural reset, cleansing the home and community to ensure health and happiness for the coming season. Setsubun is wonderfully recreated in this Miyao Company Okimono (Circa 1880), a recent addition to our website.

“Shunbun no Hi”, (the Spring Equinox)

Last week, millions of Japanese celebrated the Spring Equinox (“Shunbun no Hi”), a seven day festival that marks the point in the calendar where the hours of daylight and darkness are the same length. A National Holiday, Shunbun no Hi is a time to celebrate the year ahead, but also to reflect on the passing of loved ones. You can take a look at our short-read blog by Clicking Here or on the image below.

Fleeting Beauty: A celebration of Cherry blossom

The arrival of Spring grants us a good excuse to revisit one of our most popular blogs where we wrote about Sakura (Cherry Blossom) and the significant role that it plays in Japanese life and Japan’s global identity. Click Here or on the image below to read the article.

Samurai: The British Museum

At the beginning of March, we visited “Samurai” the excellent new exhibition at the British Museum here in London. The exhibition is a carefully curated selection of armour and weapons, paintings and prints, artifacts and objects, all brilliantly put together to document and illustrate the fascinating stories and legends of Japan’s warrior class.

Click on the image below to see some photographs from the exhibition along with some Samurai-inspired works of art from our collection of Japanese Fine Art and Antiques.

The exhibition runs until 4th May and if you are planning to visit “Samurai”, our galleries are a short 20 minute taxi ride away from the British Museum. We are open, (by appointment) Monday-Friday 10am to 5pm.

2026: The Year of the Fire Horse

Back in February, we joined billions of people around the world in celebrating the New Lunar Year and the dawn of the Year of the Horse. The Horse is a symbol of movement, freedom, loyalty and ambition and those born in the Year of the Horse are said to be energetic, charismatic, quick-witted, and fiercely independent.

Read our blog about the Chinese New Year and the Year of the Horse by Clicking on the image below.

Makuzu Kozan: A look inside the magical world of the celebrated Imperial ceramicist

One of the most recognised names in Japanese ceramics, the legendary Makuzu Kozan is one of our favourite artists. We recently added a couple of Makuzu Kozan porcelain works to our website and it inspired us to write a short article about the great man. Click on the image to take a closer look.

A look inside the gallery:

Each month we continue to add fascinating and beautiful Chinese and Japanese works of art to our website and in the last few weeks we have introduced some sumptuous Satsuma-ware and a selection of majestic “Mitsuro Hikime” (lost wax) metalworks. Click on any of the images below to see all the recent additions to our website.

First glance:

Over the next few weeks, we will be adding some exceptional Japanese, Meiji-era works of art to our website. Below is a small selection as a preview for our Newsletter readers. Contact Us by clicking on any of the images below for more information on any of these pieces before they are added online.

Follow us on Instagram

Join our ever-growing community of over 4,000 Instagram followers for regular updates and fascinating insight from our collection of Chinese and Japanese Fine Art and Antiques. Follow us @kevinpageorient or click on the image below to take a look at our Instagram page.

KPOA TV:

We have now shared over 150 short videos an slideshows on our YouTube channel and in February we celebrated the milestone of 10,000 views in a single month. Grab some popcorn and head over to our channel by Clicking on the image below.

Pinteresting!

A popular resource for Interior Designers, Collectors and Creatives worldwide, Pinterest is an image sharing and social media hub designed to help users curate boards inspired by items of interest. You can view and stay up to date with our Pinterest board by Clicking Here.

What we value: Our appraisal service

Already this year, we have helped raise hundreds of Pounds for The British Red Cross through our “What we value” initiative. We regularly receive request to provide valuations and background information on Chinese and Japanese works of art and instead of charging for this service, we simply ask that a small donation is made to our chosen charity.

The British Red Cross, as part of the Global Disasters Emergency Committee, carry out incredible and vital work, providing food and water, first aid, shelter, warm clothing, hygiene parcels and much more. You can find out more about this initiative and how to request a valuation by Clicking Here.

We hope you enjoyed reading this Spring Newsletter.  You can also browse through over 100 articles and stories inspired by our collection of Chinese and Japanese Fine Art and Antiques by heading over to our News & Blog page by Clicking Here.

Kevin Page Oriental Art