wanova is a curated platform that brings Japanese culture — architecture, craft, art, tea, and cultural experiences — to the world.
From far away, without touching the actual piece, you will be welcoming Japanese works, art, and experiences into your life.
That is why everything we do rests on a single promise.
Only what deserves to be called genuine culture, handled in earnest.
Promise 1: We record only facts
To handle the genuine is to say only what we have confirmed to be genuine.
Artist. Period. Technique.
We record only what we have confirmed.
What we cannot confirm, we do not fill in with guesses — blank fields stay blank, in public.
Unsigned pieces are listed as "Unsigned (Mumei)."
As with most utensils of this kind, the absence of a signature is not a missing value; it is a fact of the piece.
Where history admits more than one account, we write "it is said."
Where we cite research, we name the source.
We do not bend facts for the sake of a beautiful story.
Promise 2: We handle only what has a traceable source
The works we present come only from the artists themselves, from galleries we know and trust, and from collectors whose provenance we have confirmed.
We do not work with anonymous suppliers or mass distribution.
Our cultural experiences are guided by the experts themselves — people who have walked the path.
Every piece, and every seat, has a real connection to Japanese culture.
Promise 3: Pieces with a past are disclosed, past and all
wanova handles not only new works, but pieces that someone commissioned, kept, and passed on — our Secondary Market.
For each of these, we record what we have confirmed, one piece at a time.
The box inscription. The contents. The condition — scratches and chips included, as they are.
Contents vary from piece to piece, but every piece we offer has been checked by wanova to include everything you need to enjoy it.
Age is not a flaw in these pieces.
It is their history.
Promise 4: We ship them like the cultural objects they are
Every work is packed with reinforcing and shock-absorbing materials, and shipped with international insurance.
Fragile ceramics, lacquerware, hanging scrolls — the packing changes with the nature of the material.
We handle every shipment knowing that what we are moving is culture.
Promise 5: Before your purchase, and after
Most works may be returned within fourteen days of arrival.
Experience services and design services are, by their nature, not returnable.
We answer questions about works and experiences before your purchase, and after it, alike.
On prices and duties:
our principle is that you know the full cost of receiving a piece before you commit.
Should any unexpected duties or import charges arise, send us the receipt — we will review it and arrange a fair settlement.
A curator with a face and a name
wanova is curated by Takuya Nojima.
For more than twenty years, he has worked in cultural strategy and brand editing, on the ground with traditional crafts, art, food culture, and tourism.
His work has been featured in Sendenkaigi, one of Japan's leading media publications, and his expertise in bringing "the value of Japan" to the world through digital and brand strategy has been recognized in programs of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).
A curation with a face and a name — we consider that, in itself, one of the promises.
In Roppongi, Tokyo, wanova keeps an appointment-only gallery.
If you are traveling to Japan and would like to see works in person, please contact us.
A note on how we work with AI
Some of the illustrations in our guides and on our product pages are made with the help of AI, and checked by human eyes.
Photographs of the works themselves, however, are always photographs of the actual piece.
We adjust tone; we never alter what a piece looks like.
What you see on the screen must be what arrives at your door.
Every other promise on this page depends on that.
©︎ WANOVA / SATOYAMA Marketing Office Ltd.
Roppongi, TOKYO