Vintage 20th Century Japanese glass-box diorama Zen Geisha Shinto
Offered for sale is this fun vintage-20th Century Japanese glass-box diorama, most likely dating from the 1950’s. What may at first appear a simple tourist item actually captures a miniature slice of Japanese culture: Zen meditation, geisha, tea ceremony and Shinto (nature worship). This very clever design begins with the printed mirror background, one half featuring flowers, a flowing stream, bridge and distant mountains. Contrasting this is a tea-house (chashitsu 茶室), with the backing mirror