qr,' ■■ a w wm B^mP^WhS |3ffSlj^ tmMmm H5tfiSfl0t@ovG^Rci^Ki&^ If £«kjU^ SSa . VEiMSSI-^m^ m ■ i \ J \ A' \. »■; \ •Sia; "Tim . Ja-yM. ."■UU a*:..'! H'ta'l Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2016 with funding from Getty Research Institute https://archive.org/details/japanesepotteryw01bowe JAPANESE POTTERY 1 PLATE I. UNDECORATED WARES. No. 520. K.IOrO: KIVO.MIDZU \V.\RE. No. 15. HIZEN: KAKIYKMON WARE. i-]th Coitiiry. \’]th Ceutnyy. No. 31..’. KAGA: HACIII RO WARD. Early i()ih Caitury- No. 219. SATSUMA: NISHIRI WARD. Early \e)ih Century. DECORATED WARES. Japanese Pottery WITH NOTES DESCRIBING THE THOUGHTS AND SUBJECTS EMPLOYED IN ITS DECORATION. AND ILLUSTRATIONS FROM EXAMPLES IN 'I'HE BOWES COLLECTION. BY JAMES L. BOWES HIS IMPERIAL majesty's HONORARY CONSUL FOR JAPAN AT LIVERPOOL AUTHOR OF “JAPANESE MARKS AND SEALS" AUTHOR OF "JAPANESE ENAMELS” JOINT AUTHOR OF “ KERAMIC ART OF JAPAN,” ETC, PART I (WITH EXTRA PLATES) LIVERPOOL EDWARD HOWELL, CHURCH STREET MDCCCXC CaT7 CENTER. L: SR ARY DEDICATED TO MY WIFE WHO JOINS mp: in my admiration OF THE ART OF JAPAN AND MY LOVE FOR ITS PEOPLE THE AUTHOR % PREFACE. T he circnmstajices 2uidev 7vhich so many examples of the Art work of Japan were transferred to other countries have been referred to so fully in this and in my previous works, that it is lui- necessary here to do more than repeat that the subject was practically unknown beyond the confines of japan thirty years ago, and it was represented elsc7uhere only by a few specimens of lacquer ware and also perhaps, in a way, by the Old Japan porce- lain so well known throughout Europe, which, hoioever, was in no sense an illustration of true Japanese taste. It was, indeed, only in iSd'j that the beauty and diversity of Japanese Art, and of the Keramic wares especially, were revealed to the outer world, when the treasures of the last of the Shogmis were displayed at the Paris Exhibition ; and, when, following up02i his deposition in 1868, and the abolition of the feudal system three years later, the collections and heirlooms of his house, and those of the princes, were dispersed and thrown upon the markets of foreign countries, an opportunity of studying the subject was afforded to those who recognised the artistic value of the works. via PREFACE. The series of examples of Pottery illitst rated in this IV ork has been formed at intervals, as opportunity offered, extending over thirty years ; some few pieces were acquired shortly after the opening of the country to foreign nations in i8y8, but these were of secondary interest, and the most beautiful specimens were col- lected betwec7t 1867 ^ period covering the time during which the chief treasures of the Toku- gawa family and the nobles were sent out of the country. The classification of the various wares, and the separation of them into groups representing the schools, kilns, and masters, have been my occupation for twenty years or more, for they were sent abroad either 'ivithout description, or erroneously described, and their arrangement has only been accomplished by the assistance of the numerous potters, connois- seurs, and friends who have visited me from time to time and verified or corrected my classifications. And I have to thank many of them for having presented me with specimens which were necessary to complete the sequence of several of the groups; some of my friends have, indeed, sent me their heir- looms, and native collectors, as well as Government departments, have added to my Collection which now includes examples of the wares from pre-historic times to those of yesterday, thus achieving a result which fa pan esc connoisseurs assure me illustrates the subject PREFACE. IX with an approach to completeness hitherto nnattain- abte, even in their own eonntry. And, perhaps, it may be that the Japanese of this and future generations will have to study the best forms of their art in foreign lands, for there is no doubt that many of the ehoicest examples have been sent abroad. Many still remain in Japan, and some whieh had been sent away have been returned ; but these are difficult of access to students, for there have been no museums there until reeently, and, as I have shown in the text, it has in Japan always been considered 'bad taste, indeed aeeounted vulgar, to display more than two or three objeets at one time or to arrange and exhibit them as we do, a feeling which may account for the singular imperfection of the native reports upon inany branehes of art, and the entire absence of information regarding some of them ; for instanee, the art of eloisonnd enamelling, as praetised in early times, is one of which few Japanese have any knowledge, and about which much miscon- ception still exists amongst their eonnoissenrs because, the older examples having been transferred to ILuropc during the troublous times from 1868 to i8ji, they have little acquaintanee with any but the modern works. The most valuable of the native reeords upon the arts which / have seen is the Ko gei Shirio, a com- pi tat ion from older works made by Mr. Kiirokawa h X PREFACE. Mayori and Mr. Miimyania, in iSyS, which appears to have formed the basis for the government reports issued in connection with the Exhibition hetd at Paris in that year, and at those subsequently held elsewhere, as well as for most of the essays upon the subject published in Europe. I have availed myself of this work for much of what I have written about the earlier wares, with which it chiefly deals; but it is singularly deficient in infortnation about the brilliant developmeiit of the artistic taste of the country which occurred under the rule of the Tokugawa family durmg the seven- teenth and eighteenth centuries, when, without a doubt, the most exquisite examples of Japanese Art were produced. This silence, indeed, accords with the feeling which has prevailed for a lengthened period, and still pre- vails, in Japan, where the rude undecorated pottery of the middle ages has exercised a strange and unac- countable fascination upon the native mind, always prone to venerate whatever is ancient, and has led connoisseurs to ignore the beauty of the noble works produced during the past two centuries. In this eccentric taste they have been followed by some western collectors, who have blihdly accepted the faulty stan- dard current in fapan. I have endeavoured to describe the merits of each class of ware impartially, to correct the mistaken views which have obtained, and also to PREFACE. XI clear away the misconceptions 2ipon other points which have followed npon the careless statements of dealers and others to whom I have referred. In conclusion, / must express my thanks to Mr. Hay as hi, Mr. Fukagawa, and Mr. Matsuo, and to many other experts and potters, for the assistance they have rendered me in the classification of the wares, especially in connection with the imich-vexed question of Satsuma faience, ivhich has been, piece by piece, most carefully verified. Also to my old friends, Mr. Kawakajni, Mr. Kato, and Mr. Masujima, I am deeply indebted for the patient assistance they have for many years past afforded me in my effort to inter- pret the subjects employed in the decoration of these and other of the art works of their country. It is from them, and from my frie^id, Mr. Uyeno, that I have gathered the information — most of which, I am told, is unwritten in fapan — about the customs, the sentiments, and the inner thoughts of their people, and the significance of the associations which I have set forth in the Notes appended to this volume. JAMES L. BOIVES. Streatl.am Towers, Liverpool, June, i 8 go. r 'i ■i A \ MAP OF THE EMPIRE OE JAPAN, SHOWING sp:ats of various manufactures, RAILWAYS, &c. 1 ! T).Marples A C'^ Li£h.o Liverpool 1 1 ^ ■ )]■ I " n I CONTENTS. PAGE Preface vii Map of Japan xii List of Plates -------- xxi List of Illustrations in the Text - - - xxiii JAPANESE POTTERY: Chapter I. — Mythological ----- i ,, II. — Traditional ----- 6 „ III.— H ISTORICAL : Section i, Undecorated wares 15 ,, 2, Decorated wares 23 THE KILNS: Hizen 37 SaTSUMA Kaga --------- 64 Yamashiro (Kioto) ------ 73 OwARI 97 XIV CONTENTS. THE KILNS: — continued. PAGE MuSASHI - - - - - - - - III ISE - Il8 Bizen 123 ChIKUZEN 126 NaGATO 128 Awaji 130 Omi 133 Buzen 136 Mino --------- 137 Idzumi --------- 139 Chikugo - - 140 Iga --------- 141 HaRIMA -------- 142 Tamba --------- 143 Totomi -------- 144 Tsushima -------- 143 Setsu 146 Tosa --------- 148 IWASHIRO ------- 149 Idzumo --------- 150 CONTENTS. THE KILNS: — continued. Suvvo -------- SuRUGA ------- IwAKI Yamato ------- Higo ....... Kii EXAMPLES : Prehistoric Pottery - - - - GiOKI ware Hizen — Karatzu ware - - - - Shosui ware . . . . Kakiyemon ware “Old Japan,’’ made for native use made for Europe Arita wares - - . - - Ohokawachi wares Mikawachi wares - - - - Kameyama wares Satsuma — Seto-kususi and other early wares XV PAGE 152 153 155 157 158 160 165 168 169 170 171 173 176 iSo 195 200 205 207 XVI CONTENTS. EXAMPLES : — continued. PAGE Nishiki ware - - - - - - 211 Painted in Tokio ------ 236 Kaga — Ko Kutani and Ao Kutani wares - - 243 Hachiro Kutani ware . . - - 250 Polychromatic Kutani ware - - - . 270 Ohi ware ------ - 291 Yamashiro (Kioto) — Raku ware, made by the Chojiro family - 292 Raku ware ...... 296 Ninsei ware ------- 298 Yeiraku ware - - - - - - 304 Kinkozan ware ...... ^09 Kenzan ware ------ 31^ Dohachi ware - - - - - - 317 Taizan ware - - - - - - 319 Tanzan ware ------- 324 Iwakurazan ware ----- 327 Kioto Pottery ------ 329 Porcelain, painted in blue under the glaze - 346 CONTENTS. xvii EXAMPLES ; — continued. PAGE Porcelain, painted in colours - 350 Asahi ware ...... OWARI Ko Seto, and other early wares - - 355 Porcelain, plain ------ 368 glazed with coloured enamels - 369 painted in blue under the glaze - 372 painted in colours over the glaze - 382 decorated with cloisonne enamels 385 decorated with lacquer - - - 386 Wares painted elsewhere - - - - 386 Imitations of other wares . - - - 389 Musashi — Tokio wares - - - - - - 391 Ota wares 3Q7 ISE WARES -------- 404 BiZEN WARES - - - - - - - 418 ChIKUZEN wares ------ 423 NaGATO wares ------- 426 Awaji wares - - - - - - - 429 c xvnii CONTENTS. EXAMPLES : — continued. PAGE Omi — Zeze wares 4^3 Shigaraki wares ------ 434 Koto wares 433 MiNO wares ------- 436 IdzUMI wares ------- 440 HaRIMA wares ------- 441 Tam BA WARES ------- 443 Totomi wares ------- 444 Setsu — Sanda wares ------- 443 Osaka wares ------ 447 Kobe wares ------- 448 Tosa wares ------- 44Q IWASHIRO WARES ------- 44g IdZUMO WARES ------- 431 Suwo WARES -------- 434 SURUGA WARES 433 IWAKl WARES 436 YaMATO WARES 459 CONTENTS. EXAMPLES : — continued. Higo (Yatsushiro ware) KlI WARES NOTES Introduction The Takara-mono The Takara-bune The Shichi Fuku Jin - Fabulous Creatures Emblems of Longevity Poetical Associations The Sho-Chiku-Bai Festivals - - - - Fables and Fairy Tales Bouquets - - - - Fusiyama - . The Genji Monogatari Marks and Seals The Undecorated wares INDEX - . . , - xix PAGE 461 464 469 471 472 476 478 481 486 489 507 510 522 536 541 545 54 ^ 552 557 s LIST OF PLATES. PAGE Plate I. The Undecorated and the Decorated wares frontispiece II. Prehistoric ware ...... 7 III. Do. 8 IV. Do. ..... 9 V. Do. 1 1 VI. Do. ...... 12 VII. Implements of Chanoyu ..... 21 VIII. Prehistoric wares ...... - 165 IX. JiMMU, Gioki, Karatzu, and Shosui wares - 166 X. Hi ZEN ; Arita wares ...... 173 XL Do. Do. ■ 175 XII. Do. Do. 180 XIII. Do. Ohokawachi wares ..... - 195 XIV. Do. Mikawachi wares ..... 200 XV. Satsuma : Seto-kusuri and other early wares 207 XVI. Do. Seto-kusuri and Nishiki wares - 21 I XVII. Do. Nishiki ware ..... 212 XVIII. Do. Do. 214 XIX. Do. Do. 221 XX. Do. Do. 222 XXL Do. Do. 225 XXII. Do. Do. 231 XXIII. Do. Painted in Tokio - - . . - 237 XXIV. Do. Do. . . . - . - 238 XXV. Do. Do. 240 XXVI. Kaga : Ao Kutani ware ..... 243 XXVII. Do. Ao and Ko Kutani wares 244 XXVIII. Do. Hachiro Kutani ware - - - 250 XXIX. Do. Do. Do. .... - 251 XXX. Do. Do. Do. .... 252 XXXI. Do. Do. Do. .... 254 XXXII. Do. Do. Do. .... 265 XXXIII. Do. Polychromatic Kutani ware 270 XXXIV. Do. Ko and Polychiomatic Kutani wares 271 XXI 1 LIST OF PLATES. PAGE XXXV. Kaga : Polychromatic ware ------ 272 XXXVI. Do. Do. Do. ------ 274 XXXVII. Do. Do. Do. ------ 277 XXXVIII. Yamashiro (Kioto) : Raku ware by the Chojiro family 293 XXXIX. Do. - 295 XL. Do. 296 XLI. Do. 298 XLII. Do. 302 XLIII. Do. 304 XLIV. Do. 209 XLV. Do. 311 XLVI. Do. 313 XLVII. Do. 319 XLVIII. Do. - - - - . - - - - 329 XLIX. Do. 232 L. OwARi : Ko Seto, &c. ------- 333 LI- Do. 359 LII. Do. 374 LIII. Musashi : Ota wares ------- 397 LIV. ISE WARES . - - ------ ^04 LV. BiZEN WARES --------- 418 LVI. Chikuzen wares -------- 423 LVII. Various wares -------- 424 LVI 1 1 . Nagato and Kii wares 426 LIX. Awaji wares - - - - 429 LX. O.Mi, Tamba, Totomi, and Tosa wares - - - 433 LXL Awaji, Harima and Yamato wares - - - - 434 LXII. Idzumi and Kii wares ------ 440 LXIII. Setsu, Idzumo, and Suruga wares - - - - 443 LX IV. IwAKi AND Musashi wares 456 LXV. Higo wares - - 461 LXVI. Various wares 464 LXVII. The Festivals -------- 310 Chu'-ko. Loyalty to the Throne and Filial Devotion, LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. PAGE 1. Initial Letter; Spring. By Sensai. 2. Kuni-toko-tachi-no-Mikoto. By Sensai. 3. Izanagi-no-Mikoto and Izanami-no-Mikoto. By Sensai. 4. Him ko. By Sensai. 4. Sosanowo-no-o-mi-Kami. By Sensai. 5. Amaterasu-o-mi-Kami. By Sensai. 5. Un-Kwaku, Crane in clouds. By Sensai. 6. Initial Letter ; Summer. 12. Nomi-no-Sukune. From Zenken Kojitsu, by Kikuchi Yosai. 14. Jimmu Tenno. From Bambutsu hinagata-gwafu. 15. Initial Letter; Autumn. From Bambutsuhinagata-gwafu. 18. The Ceremony of Chanoyu. From Daifuku-Setsuyo-mujinzo, by Hanzan. 22. Taiko Sama. From Yedo-dai-Setsuyo-Kainai-gura, by Yeizan. 23. Initial Letter; Winter. From Bambutsu-hinagata-gwafu. 34. lyeyasu. From a painted Kakemono. 35. The Red Sun of Japan. From Kaigun Kisho. 37. Crest of Prince Nabeshima. From a lacquer box.. 37. Initial Letter ; The Chamber of the Kiri — Kintsubo. 38. Crest of the Prince of Karatzu. From a lacquer zen. 47. Crest of Prince Matsura. From a luncheon box of lacquer. 48. The Shishidama. From Hokusai mangwa. 49. Crest of the Prince of Satsuma. From a lacquer box. 49. Initial Letter ; Broom-like Tree — Hahaki-gi. 63. The Hagoromo. From Hokusai mangwa. 64. Crest of the Prince of Kaga. Inlaid in silver upon an iron stirrup. 64. Initial Letter; Beautiful Cicada — Utsu-semi. 68. The Character Kutani. From a piece of Kaga ware. 73 The Kakuregasa. From Hokusai mangwa. 74. The Imperial Crests. From a temple curtain of nishiki. 74. Initial Letter; Evening Glory -Yu-gawo. 81. The Raku Seal of the Chojiro family. From an example of raku ware catalogued. 84. The Seal of Ninsei. From an example of his work catalogued. 88. The Seal of Yeiraku. From an example of his work catalogued. Xxiv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. PAGE 89. The Seal of Kinkozan. From an example of his work catalogued. 91, The Signature of Kenzan. From an example of his work cata- logued. 92. The Stamp and Signature of Dohachi. From examples of Dohachi ware catalogued. 94. The Seal of Taizan. From an example of Taizan ware catalogued. 94. The Signature of Tanzan. From an example of Tanzan ware catalogued. 95. The Signature of Kitei, From an example catalogued. 96. The Seal Asahi. From an example catalogued. 96. The Orimono. From Hokusai mangwa. 97. Crest of the Prince of Owari. From Taisei-bukan. 97. Initial Letter; Young Violet — Waka-murasaki. 100. The Itoguiri mark. From an example of Seto ware catalogued. 103. The Seal of Toyosuke. From an example of Toyosuke ware catalogued. 104. Forged Signature of Kenzan From an example of Inuyama ware catalogued. 106. Inscription by Kawamoto Masukichi. From an example of Seto sometsuke porcelain catalogued. 107. Signature of Kawamoto Hansuke. From an example of Seto sometsuke porcelain catalogued. 108. Seal of Yeiraku, of Owari. From an example of porcelain made by him in Owari. 109. Inscription of the Shippo Company, of Owari. From an example of porcelain coated with cloisonne enamel, no. Oumai — The Plum Tree. From a drawing by Tanniu, 1603- 1674 A.D. III. The Badge of the Tokugawa Shogunate. From a kogo of repousse metal. III. Initial Letter; Saffron flower — Suye tsumu hana. 1 14. The Character Fuku — Prosperity, Happiness, and Luck. From an example of pottery catalogued. 1 16. Inscription by Makuzu Kozan. From an example of pottery catalogued. 1 17. Chokei painting the Five Hundred Rakan. From Meika-riakuden, by Yamazaki. 1 18. Crest of the Prince of Ise. From a lacquer box. 118. Initial Letter; Maple Fete — Momiji no ga. 1 19. The Seal of Gozayemon — Banko. From a work by him catalogued. 'I'lie Stamp of the Mori family. From an example catalogued. 120. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. XXV PAGE 120. The Stamp of Yusetsu, Nippon. P'rom an example of Banko ware catalogued. 121. The Stamp of the Yofu factory. From an example of Banko ware catalogued, 122. The Stamp Saiyaku P'uyeki. From an example of Banko ware, catalogued. 122. ‘‘ Even in the City there is some aspect of the Country.” From an example of Ise ware catalogued. 123. Crest of the Prince of Bizen. From an example of Kutani ware, catalogued. 123. Initial Letter; Flower Feast — Hana-no-yen. 125. Tossi-toku joining in the gambols of little children. From Senriodo gwafu, by Takizawa Kiyoshi. 126. Crest of the Prince of Chikuzen. From Taisei-bukan. 126. Initial Letter; The Hollyhock — Aoi. 127. The Makimono. From Hokusai mangwa. 128. Crest of the Prince of Hagi, Nagato. From a lacquer kaiawase. 128. Initial Letter; The Divine Tree — Sakaki. 129. The Kai. From Hokusai mangwa. 130. Crest of the Prince of Kii. From Taisei-bukan. 130. Initial Letter; Villa of Falling Flowers — Hana-Chiru-Sato. 130. The Stamp of Mimpei. P'rom an example of his work catalogued. 132. Taikobo. From Bambutsu-hinagata-gwafu. 133. Crest of Prince li, of Hikone. From a vase of cloisonne enamel. 133. Initial Letter; Exile at Suma — Suma. 135. Hotel at New Year’s time. From Bambutsu-hinagata-gwafu. 136. Crest of the Prince of Ogasawara, of Buzen. From Taisei-bukan. 136. Initial Letter; Exile at Akashi — Akashi. 136. The Kanebukuro, From Plokusai mangwa. 137. Crest of Prince Toda, of Mino. From a chawan of Kioto faience. 137. Initial Letter; The Beacon — Mio-tsukushi. 138. Masashige Kusunoki. From Zenken Kojitsu, by Kikuchi Yosai. 139. Crest of Prince Okabe, of Idzumi. From a lacquer perfume box. 139. Initial Letter; Overgrown Mugwoot — Yomogi-fu. 140. Crest of Prince Arima, of Chikugo. From a piece of lacquer. 140. Initial Letter; The Barrier Plouse — Seki-ya. 140. The Tama. From Hokusai mangwa. 141. Crest of Prince Todo, of Tsu. P'rom a lacquer box. 141. The Koban-ni-Hako. From Hokusai mangwa. 141. Initial Letter; Competitive Show of Pictures — Ye-awase. 142. Crest of Prince Sakai, of Harima. From a sweetmeat box of lacquer. Initial Letter; Pine winds — Matsu-kaze. cl 142. XXvi LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. PAGE 143. Crest of Prince Aoyama, of Tamba. From a luncheon box of lacquer. 143. Initial Letter; Light Clouds— Usugumo. 143. The Kakuremino. From Hokusai mangwa. 144. Crest of Prince Inouye, of Totomi. From a suit of the prince’s armour dating from the i6th Century. 144. Initial Letter; Morning Glory — Asagao. 144. The Kagi. From Hokusai mangwa. 145. The Crest of Prince So, of Tsushima. From the figure of a retainer, modelled in Hizen porcelain. 145. Initial Letter; A Damsel — Otome. 145. The Makimono. From Hokusai mangwa. 146. The Crest of Prince Kuki, of Setsu. From a luncheon box. 146. Initial Letter; The Dolichos Bulbosus — Tama-Kadzura. 147. The Patriarch Daruma. Drawn by Tanniu, 1603-1674 a.d. 148. The Crest of Prince Yamanouchi, of Tosa. From a piece of lacquer. 148. Initial Letter; The First Notes of the Uguisu — Hatsune. 148. The Uchiwa. From Hokusai mangwa. 149. Crest of Prince Matsudaira, of Aidzu. From Taisei-bukan. 149. Initial Letter; The Butterfly — Ko-cho. 149. The Tsuchi. From Hokusai mangwa. 150. Crest of Prince Matsudaira, of Idzumo. From Taisei-bukan. 150. Initial Letter; The Fire-fly— Hotaru. 1 51. Chu-rui no dzu. Insect style of decoration, from Bambutsu- hinagata-gwa, by Sensai Yeiteki. 152. Crest of Prince Mori, of Suwo. From Taisei-bukan. 152. Initial Letter; Torchlight — Kagari-bi. 153. The Kotsubo. From Hokusai mangwa. 153. Crest of Prince Midsuno, of Suruga. From Taisei-bukan. 153. Initial Letter; The Autumn Wind — No-waki. 154. Take — The Bamboo. Drawn by Sesshiu, 1421-1507 a.d. 155. Crest of the Prince of Nakamura, of Mutsu. From a piece of Soma Pottery. 155. Initial Letter; The Pink — Tokonatsu. 156. Crest of the Prince of Koriyama, of Yamato. From Taisei-bukan. 156. Initial Letter; The Imperial Y’isit — Miyuki. 157. The Characters Akahada-yama. From an example of Yamato ware catalogued 157. A Court Marshal and his Servant. From a drawing by Mitsunaga, 1171, A D. 158. Crest of the Prince of Higo. From a lacquer kaiawase. 158. Initial Letter; The Valeriana Villoso — Fujibakama. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. XXVll PAGE 159. A Shojo. From Bambutsu-hinagata gwafu. 160. Crest of the Prince of Kii. From Taisei-bukan. 160. Initial Letter; Maki-bashira. 161. Signature of Sanrakuyen. From an example of Kii ware catalogued. 161. Stamp of Zuisido. From an example of celadon catalogued. 162. Tsuru— The Crane. From a painting by Tani Buncho, 1764- 1840 A.D. 163. Title Page of Examples. From a drawing by Hokusai. 167. Girogin. Drawn by Tannin, 1603-1674 a d. 168. The Hojiu-no tama. From Hokusai mangwa. 17 1. Inscription upon Shosui ware. From an example of his sometsuke porcelain catalogued. 172. Mark upon Kakiyemon ware. From a work of porcelain cata- logued. 174,175. Inscriptions upon “Old Japan,” made for Native use. From examples of porcelain catalogued. 176-178. Inscriptions upon “ Old Japan,” made for Europe. From examples of porcelain catalogued. 182-194. Inscriptions upon Arita wares. From the examples cata- logued. 187. Plate of Diaper Pattern. From a plaque of porcelain by F ukagawa. 197. The Kushide or Comb-teeth border. As drawn upon Nabeshima porcelain. 197. Crest of the Tokugawa Family. From a dish of Nabeshima porcelain. 199. Crest of the Tokugawa Family. From a plate of Nabeshima porcelain. 202-205. Inscriptions upon Mikawachi wares. From the examples catalogued. 206. Inscriptions upon Kameyama wares. From the examples cata- logued. 206. The characters Karatzumono, i.e., the Things of Karatzu — Pottery. 207-236. Inscriptions upon Satsuma wares. From the examples cata- logued. 237-242. Inscriptions upon Satsuma wares painted in Tokio. From the examples catalogued. 242. Kikujido. From Senriyodo gwafu, by Takizawa Kiyoshi. 245-249- Inscriptions upon Kaga wares: Ko and Ao Kutani. From the examples catalogued. 250-270. Inscriptions upon Kaga wares: Hachiro. From the examples catalogued. XXVlll LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. PAGE 270-291. Inscriptions upon Kaga wares: Polychromatic. From the examples catalogued. 291. Inscriptions upon Kaga wares: Ohi wares. From the examples catalogued. 292-298. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares (Kioto) : Raku ware, the examples catalogued. From 298-304. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Ninsei ware. From the examples catalogued. 304-308. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Yeiraku ware, the examples catalogued. From 309-312. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Kinkozan ware, the examples catalogued. From 313-316. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Kenzan ware, the examples catalogued. From 317-319. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Dohachi ware, the examples catalogued. From 319-323. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Taizan ware, the examples catalogued. From 324-327. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Tanzan ware, the examples catalogued. From 328, 329. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Iwakurazan ware, the examples catalogued. From 331-345. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Kioto pottery, the examples catalogued. From 347-349. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Kioto porcelain — painted in blue under the glaze. From the examples cata- logued. 350-353 354 - 356-368. 370-372. 374-388. 389- 390. 390. 391-395 Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares: Kioto porcelain— painted in colours. From the examples catalogued. Inscriptions upon Yamashiro wares : Asahi ware. From the examples catalogued. Inscriptions upon Owari wares: Ko-Seto, and other early wares. From the examples catalogued. Inscriptions upon Owari wares: porcelain— glazed with coloured enamels. From the examples catalogued. Inscriptions upon Owari wares : porcelain — painted in blue under the glaze. From the examples catalogued. Inscriptions upon Owari wares: imitations of other wares. From the examples catalogued. Samurai of the i6th century. From a drawing by Iwasa Matahei, (copied by Arisato,) 1573-91 a.d. Inscriptions upon Musashi wares: Tokio ware. From the examples catalogued. A LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. XXIX PAGE 398-403. Inscriptions upon Musashi wares: Ota ware. From the examples catalogued. 404-417. Inscriptions upon Ise wares. From examples catalogued. 418-422. Inscriptions upon Bizen wares. From examples catalogued. 424. Inscriptions upon Chikuzen wares. From examples catalogued. 425. Hotel riding upon an ass. From a drawing by Ogata Korin, 1661-1716 A.D. 428. Inscription upon Nagato ware. From an example catalogued. 428. A Kwannon. From a drawing by Sesshiu, 1421-1507 a.d. 432. Shika — A Stag. From a drawing by Ogata Korin, 1661-1716 a.d. 435. Inscriptions upon Omi wares: Koto ware. From the examples catalogued. 436-439. Inscriptions upon Mino porcelain. From the examples cata- logued 439. The Ikari. From Hokusai mangwa. 440. Inscription upon Idzumi ware. From an example catalogued. 441. Inscription upon Harima ware. From an example catalogued. 442. The Shippo tsunagi no wuchimi hana-bishi. From Hokusai mangwa. 443. The Sangoju. From Hokusai mangwa. 444. Inscription upon Totomi ware. From an example catalogued. 447. Inscriptions upon Setsu wares: Osaka ware. From the examples catalogued, 448. Inscriptions upon Setsu wares: Kobe ware. From the examples catalogued. 449,450. Inscriptions upon Iwashiro ware. From the examples cata- logued. 450. Rio-getsu painting the Oumai. From Meika-riakuden, by Yamazaki. 452i453- Inscriptions upon Idzumo ware. From the examples catalogued. 453. The Choji. From Hokusai mangwa. 454. The Kotoji. From Hokusai mangwa. 455. Inscription upon Suruga ware. From the examples catalogued. 456-458. Inscriptions upon Iwaki wares. From the examples catalogued. 459, 460. Inscriptions upon Yamato wares. From the examples cata- logued. 463. Inscriptions upon Higo wares. From the examples catalogued. 463. The Tachibana. From Hokusai mangwa. 464-466. Inscriptions upon Kii wares. From the examples catalogued. 467. Nomi-no-Sukune directing the clay-workers. From Nippon Bun- mei Shiriyaku. 469. Frontispiece to Notes. Adapted from a drawing by Hokusai in Riyakugwa Sogaku. 472-475. The Takara-mono. From Hokusai mangwa. 476. The Takara-Bune. From an embroidered fukusa. XXX LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. PAGE 478. The Shichi fuku jin. From Yedo dai setsuyo Kainai gura. 480. Takaradzukushi. From Bambutsudiinagata-gwafu. 481. The Tatsu. From a painting by Sesshiu, 1421-1507 a.d. 483. The Ho ho and Kiri. From Senriyodo gwafu, by Takizawa Kiyoshi. 484. The Kara shishi and the Kirin. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 485. Jiu-no-ji-dzukushi. From Bambutsudiinagata-gwafu. 486. The Minogame. From Senriodo gwafu. 487. The Matsu. From Kwanko-jio, by Sesshiu. 488. Take-ni-Tsuru. From Kokokwan-gwadoku, by Taki Kwatei. 490. Oumai-ni-Uguisu. From Kokokwan-gwadoku, by Taki Kwatei. 491. Kojima Takanori. From Yehon Sakigake. 493. Sakura trees in the Garden of Uyeno. From a makimono painted in the Ukiyo style. 496. Tsuki-ni-Hototogis. From a painting in an oribon. 498. Taira-no-Masako arranging lotus as a bouquet. From Senriyodo gwafu, by Takizawa Kiyoshi. yor. Minamoto-no-Yoshiiye and the wild geese, From Nippon Bunmei Shiriyaku. 502. Genno exorcising the Kiubi-no-Kitsune. 503. Momiji-ni-Shika. From a drawing by Ogata Korin, 1661-1716 a.d. 504. Take-ni-Sudzume. From a drawing by Tanniu, 1603-1674 a.d. 504. Takatsukasa-ni-Taka. From Yehon Taka kagami, Kawanabe Toiku, gwafu. 505. Yanagi ni-Tsubakuro. From Kwan-ko-jio, by Bokkei. 506. The Oshidori. From a makimono painted in the Kano style. 507. The Sho-chiku-bai. From an embroidered fukusa. 509. Noshi and Mizuhiki. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 509. A wedding. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 51 1. The Kado-matsu. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 51 1. Offering mochi to the Kami. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 512. The Manzai. From a drawing by Mr. Saki.rai. 513. The Shishi-mai. From Hokusai mangwa. 513. Daruma. From Riyakugwa-haya-manabi, by Hokusai. 514. Tsuki-ni-Usagi. From Yedo dai setsuyo kainai gura. 514. A Family Gathering. From Yedo dai setsuyo kainai gura. yty. Nanakusa. From Yedo dai setsuyo kainai gura. 516. Flina-matsuri. From Yedo dai setsuyo kaina gura. 517. Tango-no-setsu. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 518. Koi-no-taki-nobori. From Bambutsu-hinagata-gwafu. 519. Tanabata-no-setsu. From Yedo dai setsuyo kainai gura. 520. Chioyo-no-setsu. From Yedo dai setsuyo kainai gura. 521. A Shikishi. A Japanese wood block. LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS IN THE TEXT. XXXI PAGE 523. Ama-no-Ivvato. From Yamato-no-Orochi. 524. Uzume. From a drawing by Takizawa Kiyoshi. 525. Masks used in the drama of No. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo 526. Kiyohime. From Bambutsu-hinagata-gwafu. 528. The Shojo. From Senriodo gwafu. 528. Takasago-no-Matsu. From Senriodo gwafu, by Takizawa Kiyoshi. 529. Takasago-no-Matsu. From Shin-sen Iroha-biki Moncho daizen. 531. Urashima. From an embroidered fukusa. 534. Futen, the god of Winds. From Bambutsu-hinagata-gwafu. 534. Raiden, the god of Thunder. From a work in pottery by Makuzu Kozan, of Ota. 535. The Chikurin-no-Hichiken. From Senriodo gwafu. 537. Bouquets. From Yenshiu-riu seifu Kwaki, by Shibata Soseki. 538. Bouquets. From Yenshiu-riu seifu Kwaki. 538. A Professor arranging a bouquet. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 539. A bouquet. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 540. Bouquets. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 540. Guest admiring a bouquet. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 541. Fusiyama. From a painting by Sesshiu (copied by Yoshinobu), I42I-I507 A.D. 544. The advent of Fuji. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 545. Murasaki Shikibu. From Shinsen Hiyakunin isshu, by Nishimura Shigeki. 546. A Hibachi. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 546. The Furo. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 547. The Shuro. From an example in Owari porcelain. 547. The Chaburo and Chojiburo. From an example in Yatsushiro pottery. 547. The Koro. From an example in Satsuma faience. 548-551. Marks and Seals. From various examples of pottery. 555. A Tea Club. From Dai fuku setsuyo mujinzo. 576. The Zeni. From Hokusai mangwa. 577. Girogin. dai bi — the end. From Hokusai mangwa. I3an-zai. Long life to the Emperor. A A JAPANESE POTTERY. CHAPTER I. MYTHOLOGICAL. LL Japanese reports agree in stating that the art of pottery was invented in the time of Oanamiichi-no-Mikoto, long before the his- torical period of Japan, which commences 660 B.C. Whatever credence may rightly be given to this tradition, it appears that it was believed in Japan until recently, for the late Mr. Nina- gawa, archaeologist in the Imperial Museum at Tokio, writing a few years ago, said, “ We testify that pottery was made in times most remote from the fact that it is stated in the earliest Japanese history, entitled the Nihongi, that Sosanowo-no-o-mi-Kami advised Tenatsuchi to prepare from different fruits a drink in eight vases;” and he adds, “We are unacquainted with any specimens of these ancient productions.” Sosanowo-no-o-mi-Kami is supposed to have lived at the same time as Oanamuchi-no-Mikoto. Who Sosanowo was may be gathered from the following account of the Japanese belief as to the origin of the world, that is, of Great Japan, which is abridged from the version of it given by Mr. F. Ottiwell Adams.* 'History of Japan, by F. O. Adams, F.R.G.S. IF S. King & Co., London, 1874. 2 JAPANESE POTTERY. Anciently, heaven and earth were not separated. The female principle was not detached from the male. Chaos, in the form of an egg, was agitated in waves like a troubled sea. Still it contained the germs of all things ; the pure and transparent rose up and formed the heaven, whilst everything heavy and opaque fell downwards, was coagulated, and produced the earth. Subtle and perfect matter combined, and formed the ether; heavy and thick matter hardened, and became what is compact. The heaven was therefore formed the first, and the earth was finished afterwards. A divine being, or Kami, was born in the midst. This event is regarded as the commence- ment of creation. An island of soft earth swam on the waters like a fish. At the same time, between heaven and earth, a thing was born similar to the shoots of the plant ashi, a rush or flag. It was metamorphosed into a Kami, to whom was given the honorific title of Kuni-toko- MYTHOLOGICAL. 3 tachi-no-Mikoto, and he was the first of the Seven Celestial Spirits. He reigned one hundred thousand millions of years, as did each of his successors. According to the laws of heaven, the first three spirits were self-born, and were pure males. The fourth, fifth, and sixth had female companions, but there was no sexual inter- course. They reproduced each other, as males and females, by mutual contem- plation, and they reigned a fabulous number of years. Then arose the male spirit, Izanagi-no-Mikoto, and the female spirit, Izanami-no-Mikoto. They ascended upon the bridge of heaven and said ; “ Are there not coun- tries and islands down there?” Upon this, they directed downwards the heavenly spear of red precious stone and stirred up the bottom. When they withdrew the spear from the troubled waters, some drops fell from it and formed an island. Then the two spirits descended and dwelt upon it. This island is the middle column upon which the empire rests. The male spirit went to the left, and the female to the right, and meeting at the Column of the Empire they Izanac.i-no-Mikoto AN’I) Izanami-no-Miko'io. 4 JAPANESE POTTERY. recognised each other, and the female spirit sang as follows : “ I am delighted to meet so handsome a youth.” The male spirit replied in an injured tone ; “ I am a man, SobAN(j\vo-NO-o Ml -K ami. it is right that I should speak first ; how dost thou, a woman, dare to commence?” Thereupon they separated, and continued their round in opposite directions. Meeting again at the point from which they started, the male spirit MYTHOLOGICAL. 5 commenced to sing in these words ; “ I am very happy to find a young and beautiful woman.” And it was then that the art of love was invented. Izanagi and Izanami no doubt represented the male and female principles, which, according to Chinese mythology, pervade all creation. From their union moun- tains, rivers, in fact all earth, came into existence. They then per- ceived that a being was required to govern the created world, and the result was a daughter, Amaterasu-o- mi-Kami, the Sun Goddess, who was charged with the government of the universe ; a second daughter, Tsuki no Kami, the Moon Goddess ; a son, Him ko, or the leech, the God of the Sea ; and Sosanowo- no-o-mi-Kami, the God of Storms. Japanese tradition states that the fifth ruler in descent from the Sun Goddess was Jimmu Tenno, deified as the Spirit of War, who, in 660 b.c., founded the dynasty which has since then ruled Japan, and whose descendant now occupies the throne. Jimmu is accepted in Japan as the first mortal ruler of the country, and in considering the events commencing with this period, we may assume that we are leaving the realms of mythology and entering upon those of tradition. 6 CHAPTER II. TRADITIONAL. LTHOUGH it is difficult to agree with Mr. Ninagawa in his faith that the manufacture of pottery dates from the time of Sosanowo- no-o-mi-Kami, it may be assumed that the art of fashioning clay into vessels for holding water, or for cooking, and subsequently ren- dering them durable by drying them in the sun, or burning them in kilns, and, indeed, of imparting to them a rude decoration, may have been practised in Japan in prehistoric times, and that there may be some founda- tion for the tradition that Jimmu, on coming to the throne in 660 b.c., ordered an official of the name of Wakanetsu-hiko-no-Mikoto to make various kinds of pottery for use in the temples during religious services. It is stated that these vessels were fashioned by hand, and the manner in which they were burnt is circumstantially related. This legend is still credited in Japan, and small jars, such as example No. 6 in the catalogue, which are from time to time dug up, are believed to date from the time of Jimmu. Immense deposits of pottery have also been discovered in the shell mounds at Omori, in the vicinity of Tokio, and elsewhere in Japan, to which no certain dates can be assigned, but which were evidently made in very ancient times, most probably before the present era in Japan commenced. This subject is treated at length by Professor Morse and Mr. Satow in their papers upon “ The Shell Mounds PREHISTORIC WARE PLATE IT TRADITIONAL. 7 of Omori,” * and “ Ancient Sepulchral Mounds at Kaud- zuke. ” t Professor Morse describes the pottery which he dis- covered at Omori, and other places in Japan, as being black, or black with a reddish tinge, or red of various shades, and made of coarse clay. The vessels are, in many cases, unevenly baked, and with few exceptions they are quite thin ; the surfaces are generally quite smooth ; the rims of the vessels, either straight, undulating, or notched, project at intervals into points, or have variously formed knobs. The borders are frequently ribbed within, or marked with one or more parallel lines outside, the lines often enclosing a row of rude dots. The surfaces of the vessels are orna- mented with curved lines, bands of oblique lines running in one direction round the vessel, followed by a band of similar lines running in an opposite direction, and some- times these lines cross each other. The bottoms of some of the pots have matting impressions. These designs have either been roughly incised or, as in the case of the mat marks, impressed, or they are smoothed out of wet clay, or carved in dry clay before baking ; and, like all the pottery found in shell mounds throughout the world, these works bear the impression of the cord mark. Professor Morse groups the objects found in the Omori shell mounds as follows: — Cooking vessels answering to pots, stewpans, etc. ; hand vessels, such as bowls and cups ; vessels with constricted necks, used as water bottles pos- sibly ; and a few vessels of various forms, which may be designated as ornamental jars and bowls. In some instances he found the vessels had been painted with mercury sulphide, but in no instance had any attempt been made to paint designs or patterns, except that, in * Memoirs of the Science Department, University of Tokio, Japan. “ Shell Mounds of Omori,” by Edward S. Morse, Professor of Zoology, University of Tokio. Published by the University, 1879. t “ Ancient Sepulchral Mounds in Kaudzuke,” by Ernest Salow. Transactions of the Asiatic Society of Japan, vol. viii. Part iii, Yokohama, 1880. 8 JAPANESE POTTERY. some cases, the colour is applied to interspaces between lines or curves already marked. Very few perfect or complete vessels have been found, the discoveries consisting mainly of fragments such as are shewn in the plates, which I have ventured to copy from the numerous examples given in Professor Morse’s paper ; and I may mention that he considers the bowl illustrated in two positions on the left side Plate IV, the finest specimen discovered. I am also able to illustrate these objects by the examples Nos. i to 5, which have been kindly presented to me by Mr. Watanabe, President of the Tokio Daigaku, from the University Collection, where the specimens discovered by Professor Morse are preserved. Much difference of opinion* exists as to the age of these deposits, some assigning a date of 2,000 or 2,600 years ago, basing this view upon geological reasons, whilst others think 1,000, or even 600 years nearer the mark; the latter estimates, however, do not appear to have been based upon any sound data, and the balance of opinion is in favour of the higher figures. Professor Morse, whose opinion on the matter is entitled to the greatest consideration, considers that these deposits were formed before the commencement of the present Japanese era, in 660 b.c. In reply to a recent enquiry from me, he writes, “ In my opinion, the pottery of these deposits was made by a pre-Aino race. That the deposits are ancient there can be no doubt, as there has not only been a change in the fauna, but the species have gradu- ally changed through the lapse of time.” Mr. L. Arnoux, the Art Director of Messrs. Minton’s works, to whom I submitted the specimens of prehistoric pottery in my Collection, and the drawings made by Professor Morse, confirms the opinion of the latter as to their antiquity. He traces a very strong resemblance in form between these fragments and Trojan, Mexican, and * “ Notes on Stone Implements fiom Otaru and Hakodate,” by Professor John Milne. — Transactions of the Asiatic Societj' of Japan, Vol. viii, Part i. Yokohama, l8So. UJ < u o U4 I 1 It r V. • PREHISTORIC WARE. plate iv. TRADITIONAL. 9 Phoenician remains ; and although he finds it impossible to form a definite opinion as to the time they were made, he thinks they are of great age, and he adds that all prehistoric pottery — whether Phoenician, Trojan, Mexican, Japanese, or others — shows a great similarity in manipula- tion, form, and decoration ; and, when placed side by side, would be difficult to distinguish one from the other. The contention in favour of the more recent dates suggested is weakened by the fact that none of the fragments found by Professor Morse, or the tsubo attributed to the time of Jimmu, show the least sign of having been thrown or turned ; and the supposition therefore is that they were made at a period at least anterior to the use of the potter’s wheel in Japan, the introduction of which into that country is supposed to have occurred in the eighth century. Other mounds have been opened in various places, including some of a sepulchral character at Ohoya and Ohomuro, in the province of Kaudzuke, and Kawasaki, in the province of Musashi ; and the remains disinterred from these have a peculiar interest in connection with the tradition that in very ancient times it was customary to bury alive, around the tombs of deceased chieftains, human beings and horses, for which, in later days, clay figures were substituted. In a Paper read before the Asiatic Society of Japan,* Mr. Ernest Satow gives a most interesting and valuable report upon the discoveries at Ohoya and Ohomuro. He describes the pottery found in the tombs as being similar in material and appearance to those found in the Omori shell heaps, but not nearly so numerous, and in a more perfect state of preservation. The most interesting portion of Mr. Satow’s Paper, however, is that which refers to the fragments of figures, and of a horse, which were dug up about seventy years * ‘‘.Ancient Sepulchral Mounds in Kaudzuke.” A Taper, by Ernest Satow. Transac/ious of the Asiatic Society of Japan. Vol. viii, Part iii. Yokohama, 1880. 15 lO JAPANESE POTTERY. ago. One in particular is described as the bust of a human figure, which, when first discovered at Ohoya, was in a sitting position, complete so far as the knees, on which rested the hands. The arms are said to have been clothed in long narrow sleeves, but the figure has been so much injured since its discovery that nothing more is definitely known regarding the costume than can be gathered from Fig. A in the accompanying plate. No. V, in which are also shown a portion of a human figure and a horse’s head, of pottery, found in sepulchral mounds at Kami Dakushi, in Musashi ; for all of which I am indebted to Mr. Satow’s Paper. He gives the following descriptions of the objects. The height of the fragment of the figure A is nearly fourteen inches ; it is made of very hard black clay, and the only traces of moulding are the marks of some textile fabric on the brim of the hat, by means of which the required shape was given whilst the figure was drying. The figure from Kami Dakushi, Fig. C, is eighteen inches high, with arms and hands complete, and wears a hat, as shown in the drawing ; the nose has been knocked off, which deprives the face of its proper expression. The horse’s head. Fig. B, has a head-stall moulded on to it, ornamented with bosses and knobs ; one eye has been knocked out, the mane and forelock are broken off, and one ear is lopped short. I am also able to illustrate a figure dug up at Kawasaki, which was kindly procured for me by my friend Mr. Kato, and is now preserved in my collection, together with a fragment of the tomb from which it was taken, both of which are illustrated in Plate VI. The peculiar interest attaching to these remains is, as I have already remarked, their association with the tradition that the servants and horses of a dead chieftain were buried alive around his tomb. Mr. Satow writes that no inscriptions of any kind have been found at the sepulchral mounds which have been opened, which would lead to the discovery of the persons I • PREHISTORIC WARE. TRADITIONAL. 1 1 who were buried in them, but he goes on to say that it is very probable that these mounds were the burial places of members of the Imperial family, and he gives some extracts from the Nihongi relating to events which are said to have occurred during the reigns of the Emperors Suizhin, Suwinin, and Keikau, gy b c. to 130 a.d., which, without supporting the correctness of the Japanese dates, lead him to adopt the view that these tumuli are really the tombs of the Imperial family, as stated above, and he gives transla- tions from the annals in the Nihongi which are of great interest in connection with the custom referred to, and with these descriptions of pottery. After announcing the death and burial of the Mikado Suwinin’s brother, Yamato-hiko-no-Mikoto, the extract runs: — “ On this they assembled those who had been in his immediate service, and buried them all upright round his sepulchre alive. For many days they died not, but day and night wept and cried. At last they died and rotted. Dogs and crows assembled and eat them. The Mikado, hearing the sound of their weeping and crying, felt saddened and pained in his heart. He commanded all his high officers, saying, ‘It is a very painful matter to force those whom one has loved during life to follow him in death, and though it is an ancient custom, why follow it if it be bad ? From now and henceforth plan so as to stop causing men to follow the dead.’ “At a later period, when the Empress Hi-ba-su-hime- no-Mikoto died, several days were allowed to elapse before she was buried, and the Mikado commanded all his high officers, saying, “ We knew before that the practice of fol- lowing the dead is not good. In the case of the present burying what shall be done ? ’ “Thereupon Nomi-no-Sukune advanced and said, ‘It is not good to bury living men standing at the sepulchre of a Prince, and this cannot be handed down to posterity. I pray leave now to propose a convenient plan, and to lay this before the Sovereign.’ And he sent messengers to 12 JAPANESE POTTERY. summon up a hundred of the clay-workers’ tribe of the country of Idzumo, and he himself directed the men of the clay-workers’ tribe in taking clay and forming shapes of men, horses, and various things, and presented them to the Mikado, saying, ‘ From now and henceforward let it be the law for posterity to exchange things of clay for living men, and set them up in sepulchres.’ “ Thereupon the Mikado rejoiced, and commended Nomi- no-Sukune, saying, ‘ Thy expedient plan has truly pleased our heart.’ And the things of clay were for the first time set up at the tomb of Hi-ba-su- hime-no-Mikoto.” Other traditions found in the records of Japan state that the earliest known potters who made wares for the use of the people were settled in the province of Idzumi, and that they were placed under the control of an officer, known by the name of Haji, during the reign of the Emperor Suizhin, in the year 97 b.c. Later on it is recorded that during the reign of the Emperor Suwinin, 2Q to 71 A.D., some followers of a Corean prince named Sinra, or Hiboko, came to Japan, and settled in the province of Omi, where they manufactured articles of pottery. We again read of the arrival of Corean workmen in Japan during the reign of the Empress Jingo, 201 to 270 A.D., and these immigrants are said to have introduced improvements in the processes of making pottery. A general development in the manufacture, as well as in the varieties produced, is reported to have occurred during the reign PREHISTORIC WARE PLATE VI Nos. 7 AND 8. J j % I I TRADITIONAL, 13 of Emperor Yuriaku, 456 to 480 a.d., and objects of pottery are said to have come into general use at that time, and vessels were ordered to be made by potters in the province of Yamashiro for use at the Emperor’s table, and in the temples of Fushimi in the vicinity of Kioto. Nothing is known as to the progress of the art during the ensuing century and a half, but when we come to the time of the Emperor Kotoku, 645 to 655, a.d., we hear that the office of Haji was abolished, and another office, known as Hako-suyemono-no-tsukasa, was established in its place for the control of those engaged in the trade. Following upon this change, great progress was made in the industry throughout the country, and the wares were accepted by the government in payment of taxes. Mention is also made in these early records of the arrival of more workmen from Corea, and of their having made tiles with which they roofed some of the Imperial Temples during the seventh century; and we again hear of imperial encouragement being extended to the industry, for it is stated that on the Emperor Mommu coming to the throne in 697 a.d., he decreed the appointment of an officer whose duty it was to supervise and foster the trade. The traditions set forth in the preceding pages are mainly drawn from the Nihongi and Kojiki, the oldest known written books in Japan ;* the former was composed in 71 1 and 712 a.d., and the latter in 720 a.d It is supposed that the Japanese possessed no written language until the sixth century, and the authenticity of much that is recorded in the works named has been questioned by many European scholars who have studied the history of the country; indeed, Mr. Satow J appears to doubt the reality of Jimmu, and has expressed an opinion that the popular chronology of Japan is clearly fictitious to the end of the fourth century a.d. Possibly, however, even earlier * The Mikados Empiie. by W. E. Griffis, A.M. Harper ik Brothers, New York, 1876 t Handbook for Travellers to Central and Noithcrti Japan, by Ernest M. Satuw, C M.G. and Lieut. A. G. S. Haines. Jolin Murray, London, 1884. 14 JAPANESE POTTERY. records than the Nihongi and Kojiki may yet be discovered in the ancient temples, and, in the meantime, it accords more with our disposition and feelings to ignore these sceptical views, and to join in the belief, which has for so many centuries obtained in Japan, in the authenticity of the national records, which, indeed, probably rest upon traditions entitled to equal credence with those which form the basis of much of the history implicitly accepted in western countries. IlMMU Tenno — li.C. 660-581. 15 CHAPTER III. HISTORICAL. SECTION I.— UNDECORATED WARES. E historical records of Japan commence, as we have already shown, with the opening years of the eighth century of the Christian era, and amongst the earliest statements relating to the industry of pottery at that time there are two which show that little change had been made in the thirteen cen- turies during which it had been practised in that country, and it appears that nothing but unglazed stoneware and earthenware made by hand was produced at this period, when the art of glazing pottery was introduced, and the potter’s wheel was probably used for the first time. It is evident, therefore, that prior to this date little or no progress had been made since the time of Jimmu, and indeed, so far as can be judged from the very imper- fect information at our command respecting the character of the wares produced at the period referred to, it would seem that, although some advance had been attained in the process of firing, the works of which we are now treating were inferior in other respects to those attributed to the prehistoric period, for at this time, and for some centuries later, there is little improvement in the form i6 JAPANESE POTTERY. of the vessels produced, and no greater advance in the direction of decoration than such as could be accomplished by rude scorings in the clay ; whilst the illustrations of the prehistoric remains show, in some cases, a certain elegance of shape, and a distinct approach to ornamental forms in the designs with which they are embellished. The art of glazing pottery was first practised at the kiln of Karatzu, in the province of Hizen, early in the eighth century ; for some time it was confined to this factory, but it gradually came into favour elsewhere, and it appears to have become general throughout the country during the reign of Emperor Kwammu, 782 to 806 a.d. The date of the introduction of the potter’s wheel into Japan is a little uncertain, indeed, doubts have been expressed as to the authenticity of the statement that Gioki, a priest of the province of Idzumi, visited China, about the close of the eighth century, and having learned the secret of the wheel, instructed his countrymen how to use it ; on the other hand, Mr. Satow expresses the opinion that some of the Kaudzuke remains show signs of the wheel. However this may be there is a certain kind of thick and rough earthenware, in the form of jars and dishes, thrown or turned upon the wheel, known in Japan as Gioki ware, specimens of which are preserved in the Temple of Todaiji in the sacred city of Nara, the ancient capital of Japan, where the Mikados resided from 709 to 724 a.d. An example of this ware, which was procured for me in Japan by Mr. Kato, is preserved in my collection. During the succeeding four centuries the references to the industry, in the records referred to, are very scanty ; so far, at least, as the translations have become available to us. Two only deserve relation. The first states that early in the ninth century there were three inhabitants of the department of Yamada, in the province of Owari, who were acquainted with the methods employed in making pottery, and having attained to a certain degree of excel- lence, they were formed by the Government into a caste. HISTORICAL— UNDECORATED. or guild, and placed under the control of the Daizen, probably a department presided over by the officer who superintended the feasts and entertainments of the court of the Mikado. A century later, we read that regulations were made concerning the quantities of pottery which should each year be paid in lieu of taxes. Nothing of importance beyond this is to be learnt regarding the progress of the industry from the eighth to the close of the twelfth century, and we shall probably be correct in assuming that none but the rudest objects, coarse in material, shapeless in form, imperfect in glazing, and devoid of ornament, were produced ; in fact, that no sensible progress had been made since the industry was commenced. The thirteenth century opens with the appearance of Kato Shirozayemon, afterwards known as Toshiro, who introduced many improvements in the industry, and gave such a marked impetus to it that he has justly been known in Japan as the “ Father of Pottery.” This artist, who is referred to at greater length in the section dealing with Owari wares, visited China in 1222 A.D., and during a stay of some years, learnt the art of glazing, as practised by the already skilful potters of that country. On his return to Japan, his knowledge enabled him to select clays of a suitable character for the improved wares which he wished to produce, and he commenced to make small objects, having a slight approach to elegance in form, to which he imparted some degree of beauty by the skilful application of glazes, but his skill carried him no further in this direction than simple brown glazes of various shades speckled with black. These objects were, indeed, nothing more than the small jars of brown stoneware used for holding the powdered tea employed in the ceremony of chanoyit, and, although they undoubtedly marked a distinct improvement upon the rude wares previously produced, it is impossible for anyone who is acquainted with the exquisite decorated wares of a later period, or, indeed, anyone who has a feeling for art, to agree c i8 JAPANESE POTTERY. with Japanese connoisseurs in their extravagant admiration for these objects. It has probably been an affectation on the part of the chajin, the most conservative of men, to accord their greatest admiration to the rude productions of a by- gone age rather than to the beautiful wares made in their own day ; and this feeling may have been intensified by the former being hallowed by their historical associations, and also by their resemblance to the ancient pottery of China and Corea, from whence much of the knowledge of the earlier potters of Japan was derived. And here we may take the opportunity of introducing an account of chanoyti, or ceremonial tea-parties, an observance which for centuries has exercised an influence upon the social life of Japan, and which during the middle ages furnished the chief incentive to the native potter to produce, for the use of those who took part in the ceremony, the wares to which reference has been made, and which formed the bulk of the pottery having any pretension to artistic excel- lence produced from the thirteenth to the middle of the sixteenth century ; these were in the form of the chaire, chawan, and other vessels used in chanoyu, of stoneware and coarse pottery made in Owari, Karatzu, Bizen, Tamba, HISTORICAL UNDECORATKD. 19 Nagato, and Chikuzen, and the celebrated chawan of the raku ware, invented by Ameya ol Kioto, to all of which particular reference will be made in the chapters dealing with the productions of the provinces and cities named. The earliest mention of tea in the records of Japan occurs during the reign of Emperor Kwammu, when it is said that a priest named Saito introduced the plant from China, in 805 a.d. ; it is also said that the ceremony of chanoyu was practised shortly after this date, but there is good reason for doubting the accuracy of this statement, and it appears certain that the leaf was so costly that its OF Chanoyu. use was for some centuries confined to the nobles. It is, indeed, certain that the ceremony did not become popular until towards the close of the twelfth century, when a priest named Yei-sei Zenji visited China, and learnt the rules which are necessary for the correct performance of the ceremony, and it was about this time that Toshiro and the potters in the various provinces named began to make the vessels used in chanoyu. The ceremony, however, does not appear to have taken firm root amongst the institu- tions of the country until about the close of the fifteenth century, when the Ashikaga Shogun Yoshimasa encouraged 20 JAPANESE POTTERY. it with the view of inducing a quieter feeling amongst the people than that which had obtained during the terrible civil wars which had devastated the country for centuries. At a later period, Taiko Sama (1506-1598 a.d.) especially favoured the observances, and his follower, Rikiu, amended the rules, and reduced the ceremony to an exact science. Taiko Sama, indeed, appears to have attached great import- ance to these tea-parties, with the view no doubt of encourag- ing the peaceful feeling which was then springing up in the country, and which subsequently admitted of the quiet rule of the Tokugawa Shogunate for two-and-a-half centuries. He used it as a means of bringing together members of the contending factions so that under the influence of this cere- mony the angry feelings which had so long animated them might fade away. The elaborate rules which must be observed are set forth at length in Japanese books, from which the following account is compiled. The tea-parties were, in the first instance, held in the open air, on a veranda facing some retired part of the garden, and the space where the guests sat was enclosed by screens, as may be seen in the sketches upon the pre- ceding pages. The number of guests was fixed at the celestial number of five. At a subsequent period, special rooms in the house were set apart for the purpose, and a small garden would be arranged so as to resemble as closely as possible a natural landscape, to give the idea of the leeling of peaceful seclusion which has always been asso- ciated with the ceremony. When the guests assembled the house was kept entirely quiet, the servants being sent away, and the master of the house himself waiting upon the guests and preparing the tea. The former leaving their swords outside the house, would be welcomed by the master, who would produce and arrange the various utensils required, and entreat his friends to taira ni gozasoraye, or make themselves at home. Whilst he prepared the tea with water boiled v; ‘ { t, 1 » PLATE VII. HISTORICAL UN DECORATED, 21 the previous day, the guests were allowed to inspect the various implements — the box containing perfumes to be thrown upon the charcoal fire, the tea-bowls, etc., etc. The tea used was in powder, and was prepared both as a thick and a thin beverage, and most minute and exact instructions are set forth for its preparation, which it is not necessary to recapitulate here, but an idea of the exacting nature of the ceremonial may be gathered from the list of the implements and utensils illustrated in Plate VII.* All these objects have their prescribed uses set forth, and when the tea was made, it was drunk in accordance with rules which were observed with the greatest exactitude. When the host had prepared the beverage, the principal guest approached and received the cup from him ; this he carried to his place, expressing respectful thanks to the master for the honour done to him, and at the same time apologising to the assembled chajin for taking the first sip ; he would then admire the colour and consistency of the tea, and after quietly and thoughtfully tasting it two or three times, pass it on to his neighbour. In this way the cup passed from chajm to chajin, until it was returned to the hand of the m.aster. The cup would then * Names of the Implements and Utensils shown in Plate VII. I . Kettle (kama). ' 7 - Tea spoon case [cliashaknd 2. Stove for burning charcoal sutsu). (fuw). 18. Slop basin [niidzukohoshi). 3 - Holder for lid of kettle 19. Mat for the kettle {kama {futaohi). shiki). 4 - Finger napkin {fnknsa). 20. Perfume box {kogo). 5 - Kettle lifters {hwan). 21 . Feather brush [haboki). 6. Tea cloth (chakin). 22. Charcoal basket {snniitori). 7 - Tea jar [chaire). 23 - Poker (hibashi). 8. Cover for tea jar {chaire no 24. Stand for the stove {robuchi) fuktiro). 25 - Stand for water ladle 9 - Hot water ladle (hishaku). [chikkei). lO. Water jug [niidzusashi). 26 . Stand for water ladle II. Ash shovel (haisnkni). {tankei). 12. Ash box [haihoroku). 27 . Fan [nchiwa). 13 - Kettle stand (gotohi). 28. Water ladle {midzushaku). 14. Whisk for stirring the tea 29. Hot water pitcher {ynkwan) (chasen). 30 - Saucer {chatakn). 15 - Tea bowl [chawan). 31 - Tea pot (chabin). 16 . Tea spoon (chashaku). 32. Tea scooj) {chasaji). 22 JAPANESE POTTERY. be passed round for inspection, and its beauties discussed and admired, and again returned to the master, who would place it in the bag from which it was taken. It would be tedious to recount the multitudinous rules and points of etiquette involved in the proper observance of chanoyu, but some idea of them may be gathered from a perusal of the list of the implements and utensils used, for the identification of which I am indebted to my friend Mr. Uyeno. And here, in passing from the ceremony and the consideration of its influence upon the early potters of Japan, it may be noted that the warrior and statesman Taiko not only made it the means of tranquillizing the disturbed minds of his countrymen, but used the rude and simple vessels employed as rewards for meritorious actions on the part of his followers, instead of following the example of his predecessors by rewarding them with presents of substantial value or grants of land. 'I'aiko Sama. 23 CHAPTER III. HISTORICAL. SECTION II.— DECORATED WARES. APANESE Art enters upon its most brilliant epoch with the opening years of the seven- teenth century when the country, after a lengthened period of civil war, had become settled by the exertions of three of the greatest men whom Japan has ever known. Nobunaga, who destroyed the hateful dynasty of the Ashikaga family and curbed the power of the licentious Buddhist priesthood ; Taiko Sama, the son of a peasant and groom to Nobunaga, surmounting all the difficulties incidental to his humble origin attained the high office of prime minister to the Mikado, and controlled the fiery and unbridled licence of the daimio ; and lyeyasu, law-giver and founder of the Tokugawa dynasty of Shogun, which virtually ruled Japan from the time he assumed the office in 1603 until 1858, when Keiki, the fifteenth of his line, resigned when it pleased the Mikado to resume the active government of his country, which for a time had been seized by others. lyeyasu, one of the shrewdest and wisest of men, found his country reduced to a condition of comparative peace and repose by the genius and ability of Nobunaga and Taiko Sama and devoted himself to the subjugation of the warlike princes I) 24 JAPANESE POTTERY. whose feuds had for generations devastated the country, and, having achieved this, he sought retirement, leaving to his successors the task of completing his work. The result was eminently satisfactory, for it ensured for his country prolonged and profound peace, a condition which stimulated the development of the innate artistic genius of the people and resulted in the glorious works in pottery, lacquer, metal-work, and painting, which have astonished and delighted those who have become acquainted with them since the country was opened to western nations. It will probably be a surprise to many to learn that, thirty years ago, Japanese art, as we are now acquainted with it, was unknown to the world, at least practically so, for before Commodore Perry visited Japan in 1853 there were hardly any examples of pure Japanese art to be found in Europe, and these mainly consisted of the collection of small objects of lacquer which Marie Antoinette had gathered, and which are now preserved in the museum of the Louvre. The mind will naturally turn in view of this statement to the porcelain known as Old Japan, of which examples may be found in almost every great house in Europe. But this ware does not in any sense represent Japanese art for it was made to the order of the Dutch traders, chiefly during the second half of the seventeenth century, at Nagasaki, and decorated with designs furnished by European artists. Reverting now to the historical progress of the industry of pottery, it may be mentioned that pure porcelain was made for the first time in Japan by Gorodayu Shosui, a native potter, who visited China and there learnt the art ; and, on his return to Japan, in 1513, with a supply of clay, made a few pieces, one of which is preserved in the Bowes collection. The supply of clay which he had brought was soon exhausted and the industry appears to have lan- guished, for nothing more is heard of it until the closing years of the century, when a Corean potter, named Risam- pei, discovered deposits of porcelain clay in the hills of the HISTORICAL — DECORATED. 25 province of Hizen, and thus laid the foundation of what has since proved to be one of the greatest of the national industries of Japan. The discovery of clay by Risampei was followed by the establishment of numerous kilns in various parts of Hizen, and, towards the middle of the seventeenth century, the Dutch traders, recognising the commercial value of the ware, induced the potters to manufacture enormous quantities of the decorated ware, to which reference has been made, for shipment to European markets. Turning now from this Old Japan porcelain, which, as regards the forms of the objects and their decoration, is at variance with the taste of Japan, we come to the con- sideration of those wares which were produced during the brightest period of her country’s art for the use of her princes and wealthy connoisseurs, in many instances under the patronage of the princes themselves in the factories which they had established. It is these brilliant and fascinating objects in decorated faience and porcelain, and characteristic works in stoneware and earthenware which, as we have said, were unknown out of Japan thirty years ago, and almost all of which have arrived in western countries since 1867, when they were seen practically for the first time at the Paris Exhibition of that year, which have startled European art lovers by their complete novelty and originality, as well as by their great beauty and exquisite taste, and so influenced the European and American schools that there is hardly a branch of art, whether it be painting or engraving, metal work, pottery or textiles, that has not been influenced and improved by the genius of the Japanese artists’ mind. That it is correct to speak of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the palmy days of art in Japan may be proved by an enumeration of the names of some of the artists whose works during that period have made their country famous. Great names there were indeed in former times— the 26 JAPANESE POTTERY. Miochins, who worked in iron ; the Goto family, renowned for their sword guards ; and Monju Masamune, and Hisa- kuni, both of whom forged sword blades equal to those of Toledo. But since their time there have lived Somin and Soten renowned for tsiiba and chasing of metals ; Seimin and Toun, the bronzists ; and in our own day there is Komai, of Kioto, whose repousse iron work enriched with gold, silver, and coloured alloys, is surprisingly beautiful. Of painters there were Kanaoka, Meicho, Shiubun, Kano Masanobu, and the glorious Ko Hogen and Sesshiu, who lived from the ninth to the sixteenth century. But we find masters as great as these in the seventeenth century in Tanniu and his descendants Tsunenobu, Tanshin, and Tansetsu who worthily upheld the fame of the Kano school ; in Mitsuoki, the greatest ornament of the Tosa school ; Iwasa Matahei who founded the popular or Ukiyo school ; Hishigawa Moronobu, the originator of illustrated books ; and when we reach the eighteenth century we have Okio, the founder of the naturalistic or Shijo style of painting; and Sosen, whose drawings of monkeys are now as well known in the West as in the East. Coming nearer to our own time, there is Hokusai, the greatest of all the artists of the popular school, who sketched the manners and customs of his countrymen as Richard Doyle and John Leech did those of our own. This famous artist died in 1849, and Yosai, the delineator of the historical celebrities of Japan in his noble work, the Zenken Kojitsu, lived until ten years ago. In lacquer working the greatest masters of all were those who worked during the Tokugawa Shogunate, many of them under its protection ; Koyetsu, Kajikawa, and his descendants ; Korin, distinguished alike as a painter and lacquerer; the versatile Ritsuo, equally great with the brush as in lacquer and pottery; Shunsho the First and his son; Koma Kiuhaku, and his brilliant descendants who main- tained the renown of the school founded by him in the seventeenth century until almost our own time, for Koma Kuansai worked for the Shogun lyenori as recently as HISTORICAL — DECORATED. 27 1837. These and many other famous names occur amongst the schools of lacquer workers which grew and flourished under the peaceful rule of the Tokugawa family. Coming now to pottery, we find a brilliant array of names — names as famous in their art as those we have recorded in others, and the list would be even longer had it not been the custom for many artists who worked in the factories established by the princes to abstain from marking their wares. Some, indeed, stamped their produc- tions with seals which their patrons presented to them in token of appreciation of their genius ; but, like the artists who painted the beautiful makiniono and oribon of the same period, under similar circumstances, their works were gene- rally unsigned. The most notable instance of this is the faience made at the factory of the Princes of Satsuma, hardly a piece of which is signed, and these are of com- paratively recent date ; but of those who produced the wares of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the only name on record is that of Tangen, a pupil of Tanniu, who is said to have painted rude designs upon some of the early wares ; who it was that made, and who it was that painted, the superb and refined nishiki ware for which this factory has a unique reputation throughout the world is not known, nor is it probable that it ever will be. It was somewhat different v/ith regard to the factories of Hizen and Kioto, for although here also princely patronage was not absent, as indeed it rarely was in any province or city, there were individual potters whose reputation, and the fame of the wares they made, will live for ever. Nonomura Ninsei comes the first in this roll of noble names, for it was he who, early in the seventeenth century, decorated faience, at Kioto ; about the same time Gonzayemon, a Hizen potter, went to Kaga, and established the factories which have since become so famous ; and about twenty years later, Kuzumi Morikage, another of Tanniu’s pupils, followed him, and decorated the wares that he had made. About the same time Goto Saijiro, under the patronage of 28 JAPANESE POTTERY. the Prince of Kaga, produced the porcelain decorated with red, a style which was revived about eighty years ago and is now accepted as the most characteristic of all Kutani wares. In Hizen we have the names of Kakiyemon and Kizayemon, artists who, when others were working for the Dutch traders, made small objects of porcelain painted in colours acceptable in their forms and decoration to the taste of native connoisseurs. About the same time celadon was made in Sanda, and inlaid ware, as beautiful as the Henri Deux of Europe, was produced at Yatsushiro, under the patronage of the Prince of Higo. In the opening years of the eighteenth century, we find Kenzan, the Kioto potter, fashioning quaint objects for the cJiajin, and other potters there producing a semi -porcelain with decoration of great beauty. In Hizen also porcelain of exquisite texture and refined decoration was made at the factory of Prince Nabeshima, chiefly for presentation to the ruling Shogun, of which examples are described under the heading of Ohokawachi wares, and a little later the beautiful Hirado porcelain was made at Mikawachi. Continued progress in the direction of refinement of the ware, without any falling off in the vigour and beauty of the decoration, was marked until the opening of the present century, when the highest development of the Satsuma faience was probably reached ; at this time, also, Yeiraku and Dohachi in Kioto produced faience of the highest order, and porcelain of great beauty, painted with blue under the glaze, was made there as well as in Owari. Even so recently as twenty years ago, refined work was produced in Kioto by such potters as Tanzan and Taizan, and in Owari by Kawamoto Masukichi and Hansuke ; but, since then, the blighting influence of western civilisation has destroyed the artistic feeling of the potters there and elsewhere in Japan, and now we find them working to the order of traders, just as their ancestors did at Nagasaki two hundred years or more ago. The productions of the factories just named may be HISTORICAL — DECORATED. 29 designated the Decorated pottery of Japan as distinguished from the Undecorated wares made prior to the seventeenth century. To which of these belongs the palm as regards elegance of form, purity of the ware, and beauty of ornamentation, would appear quite plain to those who have had the opportunity of seeing both ; but most curious differences of opinion have been expressed upon this point by two groups of collectors, the one consisting of those who have formed their opinions upon what they have seen in Japan, and the other composed of those who have gathered their information upon the subject from a study of the works which have been received in Europe. At first sight it would appear as if the former must have had the advantage in their opportunities, but it is not so. The circumstances under which many of the finest wares were made, and the manner in which they were dispersed, have given collectors in western countries a wider and more correct experience on the subject than it was possible for visitors to Japan, or even residents in that country, to obtain. It is well known that the finest examples of pottery, lacquer, and other wares were made either in the factories established by the various princes, or by the artists more immediately attached to their courts ; these objects would either be presented by the princes to their friends or to the ruling Shogun, or preserved in their own collections, and there they might remain for generations little seen, for in Japan there have been no museums, and it was the custom to exhibit such objects with much reserve, a few only at a time, and this chiefly at the change of the seasons, when a simple vase, or perhaps a pair, a kakemono, or some other example of art, would be placed in the tokonoma, a recess in the room formed for the display of such objects ; and when another season came round other works appropriate to it would be substituted, and all in their turn would be restored to the treasure house. “ It would have been considered the height of vulgarity in my 30 JAPANESE POTTERY. country,” said a Japanese visitor to the author, “to display all these works at once, as you do in your museum.” It will be plain that such conditions as these would render it difficult, indeed impossible, for visitors to Japan, or even residents, to acquire a wide and comprehensive knowledge of its art-works ; and even those residents who have had the opportunity of inspecting the collections of some of the daimio have been surprised to find how small they were. And this was generally the case, but there was one notable exception ; for the house of Tokugawa, during its lease of power, was always a liberal patron of the arts, and had accumulated in its treasure houses numerous works of the highest beauty, to which were added the gifts of the princes from amongst the rarest objects produced at the factories under their patronage, or by the artists attached to their courts. These treasures were little known except by reputation in Japan, and were perhaps never really seen until they were displayed at the Paris Exhibition in 1867, to which they were sent by the last of the Toku- gawa Shogun, ostensibly to illustrate the arts of his country, but in reality for sale with the object of raising funds with which to carry on the civil war. It was these works which first gave European collectors the opportunity of studying the finest examples of Japanese art. F'our years later, when the feudal system in Japan was abolished, the daimio broke up their establishments and sent their collections out of the country ; comparatively few of the objects were offered in Japan, for the princes would naturally prefer to send their heirlooms away for disposal rather than have them exposed for sale in the curiosity shops of Tokio or Yokohama. The position is well illus- trated by the circumstances under which the most important examples of old cloisonne enamel, which were sent to Europe about the same time, left the country ; they were evidently shipped secretly, for many of them were pasted over with paper to disguise their nature, and it is a most singular fact that these beautiful works are entirely unknown to the HISTORICAL DECORATED. 31 connoisseurs and dealers of Japan, who confess that they had never seen them in their own country, although they were well acquainted with the smaller efforts of the Hirata family in the ornamentation of sword furniture, and the modern imitations of both, but at the same time they admit that the character of the decoration, and the imperial emblems with which they are ornamented, undoubtedly indicate that they must have been made for imperial use. And it is a still more curious fact that, even now, after most of the examples of the art have been in England for about twenty years, the Japanese who have seen them are unable to dispute the theories as to their date and origin which were set forth in Japanese Enamels." And so it came about that those who were upon the spot may have had less favourable opportunities of seeing examples of pottery than collectors in foreign countries, who, as they received these works on their arrival in Europe, and to some extent in America also, marvelling at their beauty, acquired them from time to time, and as their col- lections grew in size devoted themselves to their arrange- ment and classification, and eventually, with the aid of their Japanese visitors, evolved, bit by bit, out of the chaos of “Japanese Pottery,” a classification of the works of province alter province, and master after master. That this was so there is no doubt, for even so recently as tvveniy years ago the distinctions between the works of one province and those of another were hardly known, and as late as 1871, the author and others who took an interest in this new branch of Keramic wares were groping their way painfully in almost unknown paths. Notwithstanding that the utmost care was taken in the selection of examples for illustration in Keramic Art of Japan J some quite modern works of Ota ware and Shiba decoration were described as Satsuma, but before the final part of that work was issued these errors were cor- * Japanese Enamels, by James Lord Bowes, printed for private circulation, 1884, and published by Bernard Quaritch, London, 1886. + Keramic Art of Japan, by G. A. Audsley and James Lord Bowes ; Folio, 1875-1S79 ; Octavo, 1881. H. Sotheian 8; Co., London. E 32 JAPANESE POTTERY. rected. It was, indeed, only in 1882 that the productions of each province were distinctly separated the one from the other in Japanese Marks and Seals,* after more than ten years of patient research, comparison, and labour. Almost everything is now clear, and it is easy to dis- tinguish between the pure Satsuma and the wares in imitation of it produced by that prolific potter, Makuzu Kozan, of Ota, who so closely copied some of the more recent works of the Satsuma factory that it was most difficult to distinguish the copy from the original ; his works are referred to at length in a subsequent chapter, and it must suffice here to say that he, natural genius that he was, did not long content himself with the imitation of other wares, but produced many original works, some in perfect taste, whilst others failed in that respect, but all affording evidence of his triumphant skill as a potter. It was the works of Kozan that first disturbed the minds of collectors in their views regarding pure Satsuma, but, later on, other wares of similar character, chiefly decorated at Tokio, Shiba, Hiogo, and Kioto, with proces- sions of saints and historical figure subjects, cleverly executed in enamel colours, with gold plentifully introduced, were shipped abroad by unscrupulous European traders as “pure Satsuma ” with mendacious legends associated with them. These works, by no means unlovely in themselves or defi- cient in merit, are what those who have resided in Japan have most properly warned collectors against, and what travellers have brought home with them as real Satsuma, and these objects may now be seen here in all their some- what gaudy glory of gilt and colour, in almost every curiosity shop throughout the land. These matters are traced step by step in the chapters devoted to the different wares, and the examples included in the various sections of the Catalogue make each dis- tinction clear by illustration and description. It has, however, been necessary to refer so far to them here to shew how “Japanese Ma)ks and Seals, by James Lord Bowes. II. Sotheran & Co., London, 1S82. HISTORICAL DECORATED. 33 the differences of opinion which we have named arose, and how it was that one group of collectors naturally preferred the ancient undecorated wares of the country, so highly prized by the chajin, and by them esteemed before all others, to the more modern decorated wares to which reference has just been made. At the same time, it is now clear that the other group of collectors, who had been so fortunate as to secure the dispersed collections of the deposed princes were justified in their admiration of the beautiful wares that had come into their possession. These remarks have, in a measure, been prompted by the perusal of an interesting article upon Satsuma pottery by Professor Morse,* in which he treats upon the different kinds of the pottery named. He gives much valuable information about the earlier works of the factory, but awards somewhat extravagant praise to the Seto-knsuri and other undecorated wares, rather to the disparagement of the nishikide or decorated faience of a later period. The opportunities which he and others in Japan had of seeing much of the latter were, as we have shewn, not so great as those of European collectors, whilst, on the other hand, those who have been in that country during recent years have seen the shops flooded with the utensils discarded by the chajin since the ceremony of chanoyu went out of vogue. These objects, small chaire, chawan, and so forth, made of the rude stoneware so dear to the heart of the orthodox chajin, must have numbered tens of thousands, for we believe that Professor Morse has gathered together as many as seven hundred of the little brown tea-jars alone. To afford others an opportunity of forming an opinion of the relative merits and beauty of the two kinds, we have had a plate prepared, which forms the frontispiece of this work, showing examples of the leading Decorated and the Undecorated wares in chromo-lithography. These subjects are admirably rendered, and need no comment from “ Old Satsuma,” by Professor E. S. Morse ; Harper s New Moilhly Magazine. Sept., 1888. Harper & Brothers, New York. 34 JAPANESE POTTERY. US. In selecting them we have been careful to take repre- sentative examples. The Undecorated examples are a chawan of Karatzu pottery, 1394 to 1427 a.d. ; a chawan of Seto-kuro ware of fifteenth century ; a chaire by the matchless Toshiro of thirteenth century ; a tsubo of Seto-kusuri Satsuma, seven- teenth century ; and a chawan of rakii ware made by Nonko, perhaps the most distinguished member of the Chojiro family, who died in Kioto in 1657 ; nobler works than these in the taste of the chajin could not be found. On the other hand, the Decorated wares are illustrated, necessarily imperfectly so owing to the limited space and the abundance of material, by specimens of Hizen porcelain by Kakiyemon and Kioto faience, of the seventeenth century, and examples of Kaga pottery and Satsuma faience dating from the earlier years of the present century. Iyryasu. THE KILNS. J 1 s I 37 HIZEN. Crest of Prince Nabeshima, of Hizen. LTHOUGH the Keramic wares of this province do not possess the characteristic beauty which distinguishes the works produced by the artists of Satsuma, Kioto, and Kaga, some of them have a charm and a merit of their own, and upon these and other grounds Hizen is entitled to a foremost place amongst the provinces and cities of Japan which have become celebrated both for decorated and undecorated wares, for glazes were first applied to pottery in this province, and the manufacture of porcelain also originated here ; and further : during the two centuries when the country was practically closed to foreign intercourse, the decorated porcelain made for the Dutch traders at Nagasaki, and exported by them to Europe, afforded almost the only evidence of Japanese skill to other nations. The most ancient seat of the industry in Hizen was that at the kiln of Karatzu, which is said to have existed 38 JAPANESE POTTERY. in the seventh century ; the art of glazing was practised here, for the first time in Japan, in the eighth century of our era, and this has led to the use of the term Karatzumono (the things of Karatzu) in the southern part of Japan as the general name for pottery. Crest of the Prince ok Karatzu. The wares of this ancient kiln are known by various names which express their use, colour, the origin of the clay and glaze, and so forth ; for instance, rice vessels, known as yonehakari, were made in the fourteenth century ; in the next century, pottery with rat- or lead-coloured glaze was called nenuke ; in the sixteenth century, wares known as oku Korai, Seto Karatzu, and ye Karatzu, were made, their names signifying, respectively, Corean style, vessels of Seto clay and glaze, and Karatzu ware decorated with floral subjects ; at a rather later period, clay and materials for the glazes were imported from Corea, and the objects made were called Chosen Karatzu, and, about the same time, objects and fragments of wares made in ancient times, which, having been injured by excess of heat in the firing, had been thrown aside, were dug up and imitated to meet the taste of the cJiajin for the rude early pottery ; these pieces were known as horidashi, or “dug out.” All these wares, which go by the generic name of Ko Karatzu, or Old Karatzu, were of a rude and inartistic description, and the examples of the fourteenth and sixteenth century cata- logued may perhaps fairly indicate their character. At a later period, a more refined ware was made, which was known HIZEN. 39 as Kenjo Karatzu, or presentation Karatzu, owing to its being intended for presentation to the Tokugawa Shogun ; the example of this ware catalogued shews a marked improve- ment in the material, potting, glazing, and decoration, the latter consisting of a portion of the Tokugawa badge, inlaid in white clay upon the grey body in the mishima style. The kiln is still in existence, but only objects for ordinary domestic use are made. The chief factories of Hizen in more recent times have been situated at or in the vicinity of the town of Arita, and the wares produced at the various kilns are known by the general name of Imari yaki, or Imari wares, owing to their being distributed from the town of that name to other parts of the country. It was in this province that the Portuguese traders landed in 1542, and the Dutch in 1601 ; the circumstances under which they carried on their trade are fully related in Keramic Art of Japan and need not be recapitulated here for they have no especial interest in connection with our subject except so far as they relate to the exportation to Europe of the bastard ware known as Old Japan porcelain. Before touching upon this matter, it may be repeated that Gorodayu Shosui, a native of Matzaka, in the province of Ise, visited China in order to acquire a knowledge of the art of making porcelain, which was then unknown in Japan ; on his return in 1513 a d., he brought with him a supply of suitable clay, and made certain objects of pure porcelain, very few of which, however, now exist ; one specimen, a small perfume burner, decorated in blue under the glaze, is included in the author’s collection, and alike, in potting, porcelain, and decoration it exhibits considerable profici- ency. Shosui is stated in the native records to have introduced into Japan four of the principal styles of decoration which are still practised in the country. These are — {a) Sometsuke, or decoration in blue under the glaze ; F 40 JAPANESE POTTERY. this is the method employed by Shosui himself so far as our information goes. (b) Nishiki-de, or the style of silken brocade, meaning decoration in various colours, red, brown, black, green, and purple, with gold, all upon the glaze, in conjunction with blue under the glaze ; it is this method which was followed in the decoration of Old Japan ware, and which is still mainly employed in painting Hizen porcelain. (c) Seiji yaki, or celadon ware. {d) Hibi yaki^ or crackled ware. The records referred to are, however, probably incorrect in attributing the introduction of the nishiki style to Shosui, and it is not unlikely that it was used for the first time more than a century later. No progress of moment appears to have been made in the industry during the sixteenth century ; indeed, the subject is hardly mentioned in the records of the country until the close of that century, when, on the return of Taiko Sama’s expedition from Corea, a number of skilful potters who were brought to this and other provinces inaugurated a new development in the art throughout the country. Amongst these potters was one named Risampei, who came with Taku Yasuyoshi, a vassal of Nabeshima Naoshige, the prince of Hizen ; in the first instance he made only common pottery, and sometimes a rude and imperfect porce- lain ; the wares attributed to him, now seldom seen, are generally those known as horidashi, which have since been dug up in the neighbourhood of his kiln. He afterwards discovered at Idzumi yania, in the vicinity of Arita, clay adapted for making porcelain, an event which naturally gave a great stimulus to the industry, and many villages and kilns sprang up in the neighbourhood of the mountain Idzumi from which the clay was taken. Half a century appears to have elapsed before any great proficiency was attained, for, in 1647, Higa- HIZEN. 41 shima Tokuzayemon, a Japanese potter, went to Nagasaki, where he learnt from the chief superintendent of the Chinese trading junk the method of painting upon porcelain in various colours, after the style practised in China during the Ming dynasty. It is not at all unlikely, as we have said, that the introduction of this, the nishiki, style of decoration into Japan may be attributed to Tokuzayemon instead of to Shosui ; there are no examples earlier than the middle of the seventeenth century, and we are dis- posed to think that such ware was not made before this date. This ware, the Old Japan, was made entirely for export; in form and in style of decoration it is altogether European, and the Japanese connoisseur fails to recognise it as having been made in his country; for, although Japanese subjects are copied, they are so incorrectly rendered as to be unre- cognisable to the Japanese of to-day. A native friend of the collector who visited Dresden for the purpose of inspecting the fine collection preserved there, wrote that “ they were no doubt all made to European orders, and do not in any sense represent genuine Japanese taste or design — some of them are to me almost hideous.” The ware is a fine white porce- lain, richly painted with flowers and birds rendered in the nishiki style, and is, from a European point of view, of a very decorative character. The forms in which it was made are large covered jars, with beakers, forming sets of five, large circular dishes, bowls and basins, some of them modelled in the form of the chrysanthemum flower, and many other smaller objects ; these wares were shipped, chiefly to Holland, in immense quantities (Jacquemart states that in 1664 there arrived in that country 44,943 pieces), and passed into the hands of the wealthy citizens, many of whose descendants still possess them, whilst others have disposed of them to dealers through whom they have been distributed to collectors elsewhere. The most extensive collection of the ware, comprising many thousands of exam- ples, is that already referred to at the Japanese Palace at 42 JAPANESE POTTERY. Dresden, which was made by August II, King of Poland, and Elector of Saxony, between 1698 and 1724. The information at our disposal about the productions of Tokuzayemon is very slight, and it is impossible to say whether it was he who made the ware for exportation or not ; probably it was Tomimura Kanyemon, whose sad story is told in Keramic Art of Japan; he is said to have made such porcelain as this, decorated with the crests of the Mikado, and having, in contravention of the laws of his country, sold it to foreign nations, was, for his misdeeds, compelled to commit Jiara kiri, the self-disembowelment, by which Japanese were, until recent times, allowed to atone for their crimes. However this may be, we find it recorded that Tokuzayemon did not achieve complete success until he found a fellow worker in Kakiyemon, a skilful potter of Nankawara, and working together these artists perfected the processes of painting in colours and gold. The works of Kakiyemon are of an exceedingly pure and thin porcelain, differing in this respect from that made for export, which is in nearly all cases thick and heavy ; and they differ also in the decoration, the designs of Kakiyemon being of a simple and natural character, illus- trating flowers and birds, or kikn blossoms, rendered in the Japanese style, rather than the confused masses of flowers and birds with which Old Japan is bedizened ; and in the colouring and gilding also there was the same difference of feeling, the one being of a reserved and delicate character, whilst the other was gaudy and obtrusive. The works of Kakiyemon are now extremely rare in Japan, but two undoubted pieces are preserved in the author’s collection, and one of them is illustrated with perfect fidelity in the plate forming the frontispiece of this work. This decorated ware appears to have taken the Japanese fancy to some extent, for the native records state that an Arita potter, named Tsuji Kizayemon, dedicated to the Emperor some examples in the year period of Kwambun, 1661-1672 A.D., and that subsequently objects were annually HIZEN. 43 made for that purpose. Probably some of the specimens in the author’s collection, which have been identified as made for Japanese use, may be the works of Kizayemon. The native records give singularly little information as to subsequent progress of the industry, and little is to be gathered from them beyond the fact that kilns were estab- lished at Shida, Otashi, Yoshida, Ichinose, Hirose, Nanka- wara. Oho, Hokao, Kuromuta, Shiraishi, Matsugatani, and other places in the vicinity of Arita, at various times, where wares of great variety were made. Of the character of these wares we learn but little from Japanese sources, and we have had to form our opinion from a study of the examples which have come out of the country ; in this pursuit the writings of those who have had the opportunity of studying the subject in Japan have given us very little assistance, for, as we have said, they have followed the chajin in his admiration of the ancient wares, ignoring, as he does, the progress of more recent times, and added nothing material to what we find in the native accounts, which appear to leave the subject in the middle of the eighteenth century to recommence a hundred years afterwards with the factories established to supply the export demand. In the classification of the specimens embraced in the catalogue under the head of Hizen, the collector has had the assistance of Mr. Fukugawa, a potter whose ancestors have practised the art in the Arita district for generations, and although it may be at once conceded that the range of specimens, large though it be, is insufficient completely to represent the progress of the industry ; still it is the most comprehensive collection which has yet been made, and does, in some degree, enable us to trace the changes which have taken place during the last two centuries. Passing by the pottery of Karatzu and Shosui’s early efforts in porcelain, we come to the middle of the seven- teenth century, when the Old Japan was made for export, and the more refined ware of the same character was pro- 44 JAPANESE POTTERY. duced for native connoisseurs. At the same time porcelain decorated with blue under the glaze was made, and this, as well as the wares already named, are represented in the examples catalogued. Amongst the specimens there will also be found a rare example of unglazed pottery ornamented with raised enamels, late seventeenth century work of purely native taste, well worthy of attention. And then we come to examples of the nishiki ware in bowls made in the first quarter of last century, the colouring and drawing in which show a distinct falling off when compared with the earlier wares of this class. Later on in the same century, many varieties of similar ware are shown, each of them evincing a desire for novelty, but failing to secure a satisfactory result ; vivid greens are used after the fashion of the Chinese artists of the Khien- long period, and pale blues, browns, and so forth, are introduced, giving a novel but entirely unsatisfactory effect. In the earlier years of the present century the brick-coloured red appears, and this disagreeable tint may frequently be seen in the wares which are now made for export. About 1830, imitations of Old Japan were made, and comparatively common wares were marked with Shosui’s signature ; these were probably made by Hisatomi Yojibioye, a wealthy merchant of Arita, who about this time took a great practi- cal interest in the industry, introduced new glazes, etc., and developed the export trade in vases and other objects ; he assumed the trade name of Sampo, and specimens of his wares are shown in the collection ; it is men of this class who have in more recent times developed into trading companies, and flooded the western markets with their wares. About five years later, egg-shell porcelain was first produced, and then we come to wares of great variety ; porcelain coated with black lacquer, on which designs are painted in gold ; stoneware covered with celadon glaze, crackled, and often decorated over the glaze with subjects in coloured enamels and gold ; porcelain partially covered with chocolate glazes ; cups of porcelain, painted in blue HIZEN. 45 under the glaze, with Chinese boys, in imitation of the famous Hirado ware of the Mikawachi factory. These wares bring us to the time of the Vienna Exhibition, in 1873, where some splendid works of the modern potter in the form of immense vases, cisterns, and temple lamps were exhibited, some of these pieces being nearly six feet high. As specimens of potting and firing they were marvels, but the blues employed in their decoration were weak in colour, and the drawing poor, while the inappropriate use of lacquer in their ornamentation rendered them more suit- able for the decoration of the entrance halls of mansions than for the cabinets of the collector. This practice of using lacquer as a means of ornamenting pottery may now be seen illustrated in almost every dealer’s shop, where large vases, with spreading necks and scalloped lips, partially covered on the exterior with black or variegated lacquer, ornamented with complicated line work, and male or female figure subjects, may be seen. Other and more refined objects from Hizen were also shown at Vienna in the form of egg-shell porcelain, cups and saucers, painted in the most exquisite manner by Tokio artists with natural subjects in coloured enamels, flat and raised. Since then a new departure has been taken by the Arita potters and everywhere we find displayed immense quantities of wares decorated in imitation of Old Japan, the porcelain good enough, but the colours inharmonious, and the drawing most imperfect ; still, although this may be so, and one may lament to see the artists of Japan descend to cater for the western markets in this wholesale fashion, it cannot be denied that their wares are cheaper and no worse than much of the modern Crown Derby, which is now being reproduced in this country from the imperfect copies made a century ago by our potters from the original Old Japan. Two other kilns whose works are known in western countries are those of Ohokawachi and the now extinct 46 JAPANESE POTTERY. one of Kameyama. The latter, situated in the vicinity of Nagasaki, was noted in the seventeenth century for its porcelain decorated with blue under the glaze, especially imitating Chinese ware, and later still, for the employment of a pale blue known as the gosii. The kiln of Ohokawachi, originally situated close to Arita, at Iwayagawa, was removed to that place by Prince Nabeshima, about 1716, and reserved by him for the manufacture of the finest porcelain for presentation to his friends ; the sale of these wares was pro- hibited, and the potters who made them had rank as official artists. Two specimens of this porcelain are catalogued in the collection ; one is a small dish decorated in blue under the glaze, with several representations of the Tokugawa crest, and with the foot surrounded with the comb-like border known as kushide, which is peculiar to this ware; and the other is a plate also decorated with blue under the glaze and with enamel colours and bearing the same crest ; both of these pieces have been identified as having been made for presenta- tion by the Princes Nabeshima to the ruling Shogun. These porcelains were made after the removal of the factory from Iwayagawa, and, although the native reports are silent regard- ing the production of the earlier factory, we gather from the identified examples in the author’s collection that earthen- ware and stoneware statuettes were produced in the middle of the seventeenth century ; some of these are modelled with great skill, and the garments are sometimes ornamented with celadon glaze, or hatched with colours and gold ; these objects are highly esteemed by Japanese connoisseurs, who at once identify them as the earliest works of the kiln. Vessels of light brown stoneware, covered with celadon glaze, were made at the factory in the last century, some of them being impressed in slight relief, with floral designs, dragons, clouds, and so forth. Another kiln in this province was established at Mika- vvachi in 1596 a.d., by a Corean potter. This factory, originally known as Hirado, at first produced earthenware covered with celadon glaze, in imitation of the Chinese HIZEN. 47 seiji, but fifty years later it followed the fashion of the Arita potters in making porcelain with nishiki decoration, and some admirable work was done in that direction. Crest of Prince Matsura, of Hirado. In the middle of the last century, Prince Matsura of Hirado encouraged the manufacture of the finest class of porcelain, and the pieces produced under this patronage are now amongst the most highly valued of all the keramic wares of Japan. They were, almost without exception, of small size, and the most prized of all were the little circular jars used for burning perfume, decorated in light blue, under the glaze, with groups of Chinese children engaged in play beneath spreading pine trees. These objects were made exclusively for the Matsura family, and were presented by them to the ruling Shogun or to their personal friends. The clay of which they were fashioned was procured from Amakusa and Goto, and was of a much softer character than that from Idzumi. The decoration, as already men- tioned, consisted of groups of children ; those with five and seven were considered particularly valuable, whilst the pieces with only three were less thought of ; and no doubt the first-named decoration was reserved for the porcelain of the purest quality. A variety of the wares made at this factory during the past hundred years or so are included in the collection, G 48 JAPANESE POTTERY. amongst them, hanging flower vases of rough porcelain, painted in rather crude colours after the nishiki style; porce- lain perforated with floral designs, most delicately executed ; statuettes of some of the seven gods, modelled in pure white porcelain, occasionally with a slight introduction of blue and green upon the borders of the garments. Besides these, there are objects of earthenware coated with celadon or brown glazes, and pretty little pieces, brush rests, and so forth, of porcelain painted in colours, all these being made for native use, and therefore in perfect taste. The marks and signatures upon Japanese keramic wares have been so fully treated of in Japanese Marks and Seals, and are so completely illustrated in the catalogue of examples there given, that it is unnecessary to refer to them in this work. One of the 'I'akara-mono. The Shishidama. 49 SATSUMA. Crest of the Prince of Saisuma. F all the Keramic wares of Japan the most famed is that produced in Satsuma, at the factories of the Princes of that province. It is the charming faience made by the artists there, under the patronage of their feudal lords, which has so surprised and enchanted the connoisseurs of the outer world since they became first acquainted with it, not many more than twenty years ago. The original kiln was founded by Prince Shimadzu Yoshihiro, who, upon returning in 1598 A.D. from Corea, where he had gone with Kato Kiyomasa, the commander of Taiko Sama’s expedition, brought with him as captives a number of Corean potters. Their names were Shin, Ri, Boku, Ben, Kio, Sha, Rin, Haku, Shu, Sai, Fu, Kin, Ka, and two members each of the families of Chin and Tei — seventeen in all. These men, with their families, were placed at Kagoshima, one of the seaports of the province, with orders to make such pottery as was then in vogue in the country of their birth. Of their early works there is no record ; and, indeed, almost before there had been time sufficient for them to 50 JAPANESE POTTERY. prepare their kilns, they were transferred to Chiusa in the adjacent province of Osumi. Here they remained for about twenty years, using the clay which they found in the neighbourhood, and, following the orders of their patron, made objects for the chanoyu ceremony, which was then coming into fashion in Satsuma as it was throughout the country. This clay, which was of a fine dense texture of a rich brown colour, was fashioned into chaire, chatsubo, chawan, and the other vessels which were then and afterwards used so largely in the ceremony we have named. These early wares were modelled after those which had been made in Owari for three centuries previously, and were glazed in similar style to the old Seto wares ; they were known as Seto-kusuri, which means that they were coated with Seto glazes. The chatsubo which is illustrated in the frontispiece of this work perfectly represents a successful early example of this style, and other specimens which are catalogued show what was made at subsequent periods. The glazes differ from those of Seto in being more brilliant ; they are also applied with greater skill, and the principal glaze of brown is diversified by splashes of blue, yellow, and black, the results being superior to those achieved by the Seto artists, but in neither do we find anything more artistic than jars and cups of brown stoneware covered with glazes of sombre hues. Twenty years later, Boku, one of the seventeen Corean potters, discovered in various parts of Satsuma the fine white clay or sand which entirely changed the style of their work, and led to the manufacture of a different class of ware which since then has' developed into the faience which is now identified with the name of Satsuma. The kilns were at this time, 1630, removed to Tateno and Nawashirogawa, in Satsuma; the latter factory, which was superintended by Boku himself, attracting the most skilful artists, and it was at these kilns that the finer and more artistic wares were for the first time made in Satsuma. SATSUMA. 51 As may be supposed would likely be the case, Corean influence was strong with Boku and his companions in deciding the style of the wares they made from the newly discovered clay, and in form and decoration alike they followed the models of their native country, and in doing so they fell in with the prevailing taste of the chajin, which then, as well as in later times, preferred the ancient wares of China and Corea to the productions of the native kilns. These early wares are known by the names Sunkoroku, Mishima, and Hakeme. The clay employed in them is lightish grey in colour and of a hard texture, differing in these respects from that used in the later faience, which is of a softer nature and of a creamy tint. This variation may arise from different methods of manipulation, or per- haps other clays have been discovered since Boku’s time, but that he was the originator of the manufacture of artistic pottery made of white clay in Satsuma there is no doubt. All these wares are, as we have said, of light grey clay ; they are carefully potted, and often somewhat elegant in form. They differ, however, in the method of the decoration, for that of the sunkoroku ware is painted, whilst the mishima ware is ornamented by designs scored or engraved in the body, which are afterwards filled in with white, grey, or black clay, as the fancy of the artist might dictate. The decoration of the sunkoroku ware was always, so far as we have seen, painted in rich browns, and con- sisted of simple floral and diaper designs, including the wave-like ornament which is peculiar to Corea, heightened in effect by the painting being executed partially under and partially over the glaze. The ornamentation of mi- shima ware is of even a more simple character, seldom going further than lines and bands of dot-work, simple diapers and rosettes, and sometimes flower blossoms ; all these subjects are engraved in a careful and severe manner, and the work is executed with such exactitude that we can understand why the Japanese give the name of mishima 52 JAPANESE POTTERY. to it. This word expresses, they say, their idea of the extreme minuteness of the designs with which the ware is ornamented, and the term is derived from a calendar or almanac preserved at the temple of Mishima, in Japan, the characters of which are written so small that whatever was unusually minute came in Japan to be called mishima. A variety of this ware is known as hakeme, the ornaments upon which, in white clay upon the grey body, were so fine that they appeared to have been executed by a brush (Jiake). Another description of early ware is a faience decorated with landscapes in pale blue under the glaze ; the paste is softer than that of the wares already noticed, almost as soft as that of the later decorated Satsuma, and the glaze is crackled as in that but it is brighter. The information we have as to the date when this ware was made is not very conclusive to our mind, but if we may believe it to be seventeenth century work it would form an important factor in deciding the vexed question, referred to later on, as to the time when decorated faience was first made in Satsuma, for in it we have proof of the manipu- lative and artistic skill capable of producing the latter. Our review of the industry to this point has reached no further than the year-period of Kwanei, 1624 to 1643, and the only information of its subsequent progress which is given in the native records is contained in the following extract: — “After this time a considerable advance was marked in the ait of making potteries, and Shimadzu Narinobu ordered the potters to put gold decoration upon white faience in the period of Kwansei, 1789 to 1800.” The early wares may now be dismissed from notice, and our attention devoted to that known in western countries as Satsuma faience, or as Nishikide, that is, ware painted after the style of nishiki in various colours and gold, and it is this ware which has become so celebrated throughout the world, and which Professor Morse, in his article upon “ Old Satsuma,” notwithstanding his devotion to the earlier and ruder works of the Satsuma and other Japanese potters. SATSUMA. 53 describes as follows : — “ The word Satsuma is nearly as familiar to us as the word Japan, and it has become familiarised to us not because of Satsuma’s brilliant and heroic achievements in the past, or her lamentable and tragic rebellion within recent years, but solely for a peculiar type of pottery or faience known as Satsuma, which was simply inimitable. Its delicious ivory-coloured glaze, mar- vellously crazed, its delicate and artistic decoration in vitrifiable enamels and gold, and the refinement which characterised each good piece filled the collector’s heart with wonder and delight.” We have said that the native records tell us little of the progress of the kiln between the years 1643 and 1800, and what we learn on the subject from other quarters adds nothing of importance to our knowledge. Mr. Satow,* who visited the kilns in 1877, repeats much of the information which we have drawn from native accounts, and, speaking of the nishiki ware, says that most of the fine pieces in this style were produced at the potteries established at Tateno. “The ware,” he says, “was manufactured regard- less of expense for the princes’ own use, or for presenta- tion to the Shogun or to his fellow daimio, to which circumstances is owing the great perfection to which it was brought.” And speaking of the discovery of the white clay in 1624-40, he says that the manufacture of white Satsuma crackled ware dates from then, hut for a long time, he adds, the wares appear to have been ornamented very sparingly with colour, and he follows the native report, to which we have alluded, in assuming that the nishiki style of decoration originated in the time of Narinobu, who is reported to have sent two of his artists to Kioto to learn the art of painting figures, landscapes, and set patterns in this style. Professor Morse, on his own judgment, and upon information which he had gleaned in Japan, considers “The Corean Potters in Satsuma,” by E. Satow : a Paper read February 20, 1878. Transaction of the Asiatic Society of Japan, Vol. vi, Part ii. Yokohama, Lane, Craw- ford & Co. 54 JAPANESE POTTERY. that nishiki Satsuma was not made earlier than ninety years ago. On the other hand, Captain Brinkley, of Tokio, who has had exceptional opportunities for forming an opinion on the subject, gives it as his view that such ware was made 250 years ago, and that the movement in the time of Narinobu at the close of last century was the revival of an earlier art which had fallen into desuetude. In the absence of any records of the work of this princely factory, and the almost entire want of signatures or dates upon the objects themselves, and in view of the conflicting opinions of those who have had the opportunity of gathering information upon the spot, we are left to form our own ideas from the works which we and others have collected, and from the information which the author’s Japanese friends have given him when inspecting, and assisting him in the classification of, his collection. Passing over the early efforts of the potters as illus- trated by the Seto-kusuri, sunkoroku, mishima, and hakeme wares, as not bearing upon this branch of our subject, and merely accepting them as evidence of the manipula- tive skill which had been attained before the discovery of the white clay in the middle of the seventeenth century, we feel no doubt that these potters were capable of fashion- ing objects as beautiful as those their brother artists in Kioto and Hizen were making about the same time. And as regards the decoration in colours and gold there appears to be no reason why they should not have par- ticipated in the artistic movement which spread over Japan at this date under the rule of the Tokugawa family; we are told, indeed, that Tangen, a pupil of Tanniu, went from Tokio in the seventeenth century, just as Morikage went to Kaga, to decorate the wares of these factories with pictorial designs. Although we have not seen any authentic example of Tangen’s work in Europe, nor have our friends in Japan succeeded in finding one there, it is reasonable to suppose that the wares then being made were more suitable for decoration than the early productions we have referred to, SATSUMA. 55 none of which were susceptible of ornamentation other than that which they originally possessed. And when we know that Morikage in Kaga, Ninsei in Kioto, and Kakiyemon in Hizen, were all producing decorated pottery of the greatest beauty during the latter half of the seventeenth century, and consider the wonderful development of art throughout the country, there appears to be no reason for supposing that the artists in factories under the patronage of the powerful and enlightened princes of Satsuma should have remained idle, while the arts of lacquer working, painting, and the decoration of pottery were making such immense strides elsewhere. And further ; the supposition that undecorated white faience only was made prior to the closing years of last century appears untenable when the striking beauty of the examples known to have been produced in the opening decades of the present one is considered ; take, for instance, the dish illustrated in Plate I ; nothing can surpass the refinement and skill of the potting, glazing, and painting of this specimen, which was presented to the collector by Mr. Mitsui, of Tokio, as an example of the work of the Satsuma factory in the early years of the present century, and of the highest development of the skill of its artists as potters and deco- rators. In view of this authoritative statement, since con- firmed by others, it is difficult to suppose that the practice of painting Satsuma faience in colours and gold originated so recently as a hundred years ago, and it is more reason- able to think that it had been practised from the time of Tangen, and had made similar progress during the eighteenth century to that accomplished in pottery generally and the other arts, obtaining perfection about the time when the dish referred to was made. It would indeed appear to be impossible that perfection such as this could have been attained during a single generation in Narinobu’s time, or that the two artists sent by him to Kioto for instruction could have achieved such brilliant results ; and this is the more unlikely when we see that the decoration H 56 JAPANESE POTTERY. of Satsuma faience has a character distinctly its own, and altogether different from that of other schools at Kioto or elsewhere. The typical Satsuma faience is of a very light greyish- white tint, almost like vellum in colour ; some of it is of a chalky character, and comparatively soft, but it is generally of a fine, hard, and close texture, occasionally almost a semi-porcelain, and the clay employed in its manufacture is evidently of a very refractory nature, and therefore capable, under strong heat, of resisting even a partial fusion. It is covered with a glaze composed of feldspathic materials and lixiviated wood-ash, but without the addition of borax or lead. The ware, after it leaves the drying-sheds, is burnt at a moderate heat into the biscuit state ; it is then dipped into the glazing composition, and lastly, fired at a high temperature in the grand oven. On cooling, unequal con- traction takes place between the body and the glaze with the result that the entire surface becomes covered with a net-work of minute cracks, which provides a ground most perfectly adapted to receive and enhance the value of the decorations which are added. What we may suppose to be the earliest examples of this decorated faience are painted in low-toned colours with gold sparingly introduced, and the designs are of a simpler character than those found upon later specimens ; a branch of some flowering shrub will serve as the decoration of a midziisashi or a covered bowl ; some of the takara mono are sufficient to ornament the robes of a figure, with the addition of a spray or two of kiku and a border of severe design ; perhaps nothing more than a diaper pattern may enrich a a chawan or dobin, intended for the use of the patron of the artist, or a tray of simple form, made for presenta- tion to the ruling Shogun, will be powdered with repre- sentations of the badge of his house, rendered upon the crackled ground in gold, and underneath the object may be seen the characters Matsudnira Satsuma-no-Kami — the name and style of the princely donor ; upon later works diaper SATSUMA. 57 patterns, medallions, and flov/ers are painted in natural colours, with gold more freely used, and about the same period the potters found a favourite subject in modelling statuettes of the kami and Chinese heroes, and sometimes of the Seven Gods ; still later, pieces of larger size — vases, dishes, and so forth — were made and decorated with the ho-ho, the peacock and peahen, and with shrubs and plants, all these being rendered in more brilliant colours, and drawn with greater freedom, than is seen in the earlier works. And in more recent examples, such as those sent to the Vienna Exhibition in 1873, modern, but still pure Satsuma both in faience and in painting, we find much larger objects, such as hanaike, with brighter glaze more boldly crackled, the decoration even more free and larger in scale, and with brighter colours and more gold employed. Mr. Satow, in the account of his visit to the kilns, gives a copy of a memorandum, prepared by a native official, setting forth the composition of the various enamels used in the decoration of this faience. For red, ground white glass, the soft or lead variety, with white lead and red oxide of iron, mixed with silica, is used. Green is com- posed of the same glass, white lead and silica, with the addition of copper oxy-chloride. Yellow is arrived at by mixing the glass and silica with red lead and metallic anti- mony. Silica, white lead, and ground glass, produce white. Smelt and ground glass produce the blue. Purple is obtained by the combination of glass with white lead and manganese ; and black is composed of the same ground glass, with white lead, an earthy manganese ore containing a little cobalt and a very silicious carbonate of copper, apparently ground, and elutriated malachite. Our remarks up to this point have dealt exclusively with the pottery or faience made and decorated at the Satsuma kilns, and we have now to consider two other descriptions of ware which have been shipped extensively to western countries. The first consists of objects made in that province and subsequently painted at Tokio ; the 58 JAPANESE POTTERY. second, of the wares made and decorated elsewhere, and exported or sold as Satsuma. The first group comprises many objects of great beauty and artistic merit. It has always been the custom of Sat- suma potters to make plain white ware for the daily use of the princes and others, and some of these have subse- quently had decoration added in Tokio, and, perhaps, also in Kioto. Objects also which, in the first instance, have been ornamented by borders of severe and simple form, have had other and more ornate designs afterwards painted upon them ; several examples of this treatment are cata- logued, and attention in each case is drawn to their special features. More recently plain wares have been made in Satsuma especially for the Tokio and Shiba artists to decorate, and some characteristic specimens of these objects are included in the collection. It is not at all difficult to identify such works, for the decoration differs widely from that of the Satsuma artist ; the reserve and repose of the latter school are entirely absent, and in their place we find elaborate borders of intricate diaper, or fringe patterns, with compositions of flowers, birds, and other subjects, executed often with great skill in colours rich and harmonious, in combination with gold outline and dot-work, frequently with results worthy of the highest admiration. At Shiba a differ- ent style prevails, and here they have a bad custom of staining the ware to give it an appearance of age ; still, the painting in many cases of the earlier specimens is exceedingly clever, and the processions or groups of figure subjects, which form the staple designs of the school, are cleverly rendered in quiet-toned enamels, with a free use of gold, which give a not unsatisfactory result, although they are, of course, essentially modern in their style, and entirely different to the more dignified and simple works of the early artists. A pair of koro, illustrating the best work of the Shiba school, are included amongst the examples of the produc- tions of the province of Musashi. Of the wares made and decorated at other factories. SATSUMA. 59 and sold in Europe and America under the name of Sat- suma, it will be necessary to speak at some length, for collectors everywhere have been deceived by the misstate- ments respecting them, and much confusion has been created as to what is and what is not real Satsuma. Professor Morse, in the paper we have referred to, has well exposed these falsely described wares and traced their manufacture and shipment to western countries ; and Captain Brinkley, in the Catalogue * of his collection, gives much useful information on the subject, although, in view of the authenticated examples of pure ware which have come into the possession of European collectors under the cir- cumstances mentioned in Chapter III, we must join issue with them both on some points. We agree in the main, however, with their remarks, and we may now devote our- selves to those who have by their writings and descriptions confused the minds of many. The most remarkable of all these deceptions was that of an auction held in London in 1879, when a large number of koro, vases, and so forth, were offered, with descriptions which showed the most daring imagination. Amongst these objects was a group of about fifty pieces described as “The Papal pieces,” stated to have been “prepared for the Jesuit priests’ expedition from Japan to the Holy City, under special auspice of the Prince of Bungo, in 1582.’’ After describing in glowing words the rise and overthrow of Christianity in Japan, the departure of the expedition, and its arrival and reception at Rome, the catalogue goes on gravely to state that “ Francis Xavier himself assisted in the selection of these Papal offerings, but it is well known that the collection never left Japan, but was retained by the Prince of Bungo in his fortress during the mission slaughter, after which it was publicly shown as relics of Catholic devoteeship,” and it is added that “with exception of a few pieces, mainly crucifixes, it is believed that this Description of the Brinkley Collection^ by Captain F. Brinkley, R.A., of Yokohama, 1885. Exhibited for sale in New York. 6o JAPANESE POTTERY. collection embraces the entire number of selected pieces ; the Jesuit Superior contrived to secure a few, but they were afterwards destroyed.” It may appear necessary to apologise for reprinting such a farrago of nonsense as these extracts, but they and many other equally incorrect statements remain on record in the catalogues issued by a well-known firm of auctioneers, and as the pieces so described are, no doubt, still in existence, it is necessary that the matter should be treated fully, for it is impossible to exaggerate the harm which such statements may have done. The so-called Papal pieces consisted of a hetero- genous collection of Ota and Shiba wares, made within the previous twenty years, many of them probably not being more than two or three years old ; some were stained to give an appearance of age, whilst even this simple process had been dispensed with in the case of others ; there were also a few specimens of Kioto faience, Hizen porcelain and Kaga ware, none of which could have been produced at the date named in the extract we have given ; indeed, many were quite modern. The Ota and Shiba, and many of the Kioto pieces, were in the most reckless fashion described as “ rarest old Satsuma,” with the addition of such historical incidents as might be thought necessary to increase the interest of the description ; for instance, a pair of vases, fellows to the gourd-shaped vase in this collection, made by Makuzu Kozan of Ota, since that factory was established in i860, were described as “ of great age, and,” having been smashed, “ bearing evidence of having undergone much vicissitude and hiding,” and then is added, “ this pair got detached from the general collection of the Papal offerings, and have only within the last six years been restored to their original position with their companions in adversity.” Passing now from the so-styled Papal offerings, refer- ence must be made to the numerous specimens of the Shiba ware to which we have already referred, which were offered SATSUMA. 6i in the same auction. These were decorated at the factory of that name, in the vicinity of Tokio, which was opened fifteen or twenty years ago. Amongst them were numerous koro and vases of large size, decorated in enamel colours and washes upon gold grounds, with groups of rakan * and other saintly figures, generally in procession or, as in the case of vases, massed one above another in great num- bers, sometimes as many as a hundred. Both as regards the potting and the decoration these works are unde- niably clever, and we have no evidence that the maker or painter of these objects misdescribed them, although it is possible that they may have done so, for many pieces are visibly stained to give a false appearance of age ; how- ever this may be, we can hardly hold them responsible for such descriptions as the following, for no Japanese would ever invent such trash, which refers to two of these objects : — “ No pieces that ever left Japan caused such regrets by their passing into European hands. They are unquestionably Satsuma, and probably the oldest pieces of that paste known. The date of their fabrication can only be a matter of conjecture, and even amongst the Japanese there has always been a difference of centuries in the period ascribed to them. They have ever been regarded in the country with extreme veneration, and were owned by many generations of the Princes of Satsuma. Three Tycoons rejoiced in their possession, and the Prince of Etza ” — and so on. And in conclusion, it is stated that “ Taico Sama carried them into Corea as historical evidence of his country’s former triumph over the Coreans.” It was in this fashion that the modern wares pro- duced in the vicinity of Tokio and Yokohama, mainly between 1870 and 1880, were distributed throughout England as ancient Satsuma, and it was only when the writer ventured to expose the matter in a letter to The Times * The Rakan are the disciples of Shaka-muni, the founder of the Buddhist religion ; there are two groups of them, known as the Sixteen Rakan and the Five Hundred Rakan. 62 JAPANESE POTTERY. about the auction in question, which had followed upon many transactions of the same kind by private sale, and also corrected the description of certain pieces which had been previously illustrated erroneously as Satsuma faience in Keramic Art of Japan, that a correct appreciation of the position was arrived at ; but in the meantime large numbers of these objects had gone into the hands of collectors accompanied by the false descriptions, and are no doubt still acting as traps to those who seek for inform- ation on the subject. Further reference to the character- istics of these wares is unnecessary here, but it may be stated that all the so-called Satsuma which is decorated with figures of rakan, or, indeed, any human figures, is modern ware, painted at Ota, Shiba, Tokio, or Kobe. Other misconceptions about Satsuma faience of a less serious nature may be briefly mentioned. For instance, writers who have gained their information in Japan, and speak only of what they have seen, tell us that none but small pieces were made ; perhaps they are right as regards the period when the nishiki decoration was introduced, but later on, when the potters grew more expert, and the painters more ambitious, and their views as to the decoration widened, larger objects were made in emulation, perhaps, of the works of the Kioto potters, and in place of the minute diaper and delicate floral ornamentation, we find the ho-ho, the peacock, the botan, and the matsu, rendered with a breadth and freedom not found in the earlier examples; and, as regards the size, the authenticated specimens of both the early mishima and the later nishiki ware, some of which are included in the author’s collection, controvert the opinion so expressed. Other writers, who have probably seen nothing but single pieces, have boldly stated that objects in pairs have only been made for export ; but this is an error, for some of the most beautiful works in pottery, enamel, etc., are in pairs, and in scenes in the Imperial palace, painted in the makimono of the seventeenth century, flower vases in pairs are shown. As a matter of fact, the idea of pairs SATSUMA. 63 is quite in accord with Japanese sentiment, for with them it signifies conjugal felicity which is symbolised in the oshidori, the beautiful duck and drake which are never seen apart. It would be tedious to refer to many of the other mistaken ideas which prevail about Satsuma faience respect- ing which there have, perhaps, been more idle views expressed than about any other of the keramic wares of Japan; some who have written on the subject have described decorated Kioto ware, of which thousands of pieces come forward every year, as “ pure Satsuma,” whilst one writer has stated his belief that not half-a-dozen pieces are to be found in this country. This surprising statement may be found in a paper read not long ago before the Society of Arts,* in which the lecturer, whilst confessing himself only a recent student of the art, in speaking of the nishiki ware, assured his audience that from his “ experi- ence of many great Collections, I am compelled to say that I do not know of half-a-dozen specimens in this country ; ” and this he said without having informed him- self on the subject by an inspection of the series here catalogued, a series which is as well-known in Japan as it is in this country, and which it has taken the author almost half-a-lifetime to collect and classify. * Lectures on Japanese Art- Work, by Ernest Hart. Delivered before the Society of Arts, May, 1886. One of the Takara-mono. The IIagoromo. I 64 JAPANESE POTTERY, Crest of the Prince of Kaga. KAGA. F the fascinating faience of Satsuma be excepted, there are none of the keramic wares of Japan more entitled to our admira- tion than those produced at the Kutani factories, especially those which have been made since the revival of the industry in the earlier years of the present century. The village of Kutani, or as, perhaps, we should say, the group of villages, for the word Ku-tani signifies Nine valleys, is situated in Kaga, one of the richest and most impor- tant of all the provinces of Japan. We have no information as to the industry having been practised here in the earlier ages. The first we hear of it is that Mayeda Toshiharu, the Prince of Kaga, founded a factory in the period of Kwanei, 1624-1643 a.d., the management of which he entrusted to Tamora Gonza- yemon ; the prince himself, however, appears to have taken a personal interest in the art, as the princes of that KAGA. 65 day were wont to do, and it is related in the records of the time that he joined his potter in examining the clay which it was proposed to employ. The wares made at this early date were in the shape of chaire and other vessels for chanoyii after the style of those produced in Seto, which, since the time of Toshiro, had set the fashion for such objects. Some of these wares may be still in existence but none have come under our notice, and it is probable that they would differ little in either form or glaze from those after which they were modelled. Toshiaki, the son of Toshiharu, influenced no doubt by the artistic movement then in progress in the country, sent Goto Saijiro, one of his vassals, to Hizen to acquire a know- ledge of the art of making and decorating porcelain, an art for which that province had already become celebrated. Saijiro returned to Kaga about 1660, and at the same time a well known artist of the Kano school of painting, Kuzumi Morikage, a pupil of Tanniu, came from Tokio, probably upon the invitation of Prince Toshiaki. The enlarged knowledge of Saijiro enabled him to select clay of a suitable nature for the new industry he proposed to commence; he found it at Muranoshita, in the neighbour- hood of Kutani, and in a valley not far off he discovered the necessary colouring matter for the decoration which he had in view. Examples of Saijiro’s works are most rare; one speci- men only, obtained for the collector by Mr. Hayashi, has come before us ; it is a cliawan of porcelain, not so pure as that which Hizen potters were then making, but still porcelain of fair quality, which marked a great advance upon the stonewares previously produced. The interior of the bowl is decorated, upon the white glaze, in gold and silver and purple enamel with ho-ho and sprays of botan drawn in an archaic fashion. But the principal interest of this piece is found in the treatment of the exterior, which is wholly covered with the rich and mottled red 66 JAPANESE POTTERY. colour which has since become the distinguishing feature of the most valued of Kutani wares. Later on we will revert to this, but now we must refer to the works of Morikage which have come into our possession, and which are equally valuable with the specimen of Saijiro’s work in affording a starting point from which to judge and classify the works of this province. It has already been said that Morikage was a Kano artist, and, therefore, it may be assumed that his drawings would show the Chinese influence which dominated that school of painters ; and this is seen in the important bowl in the catalogue. It was originally considered to be of Chinese workmanship, both as regards the object itself and the decoration ; but, subsequently, many Japanese connoisseurs have identified the painting as being from the brush of Morikage, and the ware, a semi-porcelain, the work of Gonzayemon. The decoration, executed upon a ground enamelled in imitation of granite, consists of a Chinese landscape in the interior, and upon the exterior, the figures of nine of the Sixteen Rakan, painted in green, red, blue, black, and purple, of the hues employed by Chinese artists of the Ming dynasty. Another example of Morikage’s painting is included in the collection ; it, like the specimen already described, is decorated with a landscape, and it may be mentioned that his works are known in Japan as Morikage Shitaye, or Sketches by Morikage. These pieces, and a group of similar wares in the ornamentation of which the principal colour is a deep green, with yellow, purple, black and blue enamel, serve to illustrate the earliest works of this factory, which are known as Ko or Ao Kutani, that is, as old or dark green Kutani. For how long a time wares of this class were made is not known ; probably not for long, for we are told that the art first declined and afterwards ceased, and nothing more is heard of it until the period of Bunkwa when, in i8io, Yoshitaya Denyemon, a merchant in Daijoji, opened KAGA. 67 a new factory at Kutani which he entrusted to a potter named Miyamotoya Riyemon ; four years later this kiln was removed to the town of Yamashiro, a few miles distant, the necessary clay being carried from the hills at Kutani. With the foundation of this kiln we enter upon the period when the Kaga wares with which we are all now familiar were produced. These wares are of two kinds, those with red grounds after the fashion invented by Saijiro, and those painted in various colours after the manner of Morikage, which we have come to call the polychromatic ware ; and there is a third style in which these methods are combined. Putting aside the early works by Saijiro, Morikage, and the artists who followed their lead, which are now so rare as to be unknown to most collectors, and are so distinctive in their character as to be easily identified by those who are acquainted with the subject, we may at once say that it is an error to suppose that the beautiful Kaga wares which are now so highly appreciated are ancient ; none of them is of an earlier date than 1810, when Yoshitaya founded his kiln, and the best examples were made during the half century which succeeded that event. Gold was used in the decoration of Kaga pottery as early as 1660, for we find it employed by Saijiro upon the bowl previously referred to, and it is used upon one of the works by Morikage which is catalogued, but in both cases it forms part of the internal decoration of the wares and is not applied upon the red grounds with which it is asso- ciated in the later and more typical works of the Kutani artists. Perhaps its free use, as we now see it employed, upon red grounds was originated at Yoshitaya’s factory, by an artist named lidaya Hachiroyemon, who, after studying the Tokifu, a Chinese work on pottery, introduced this style which has now become the most characteristic decoration of Kaga ware. It came at once into general favour, and the wares so decorated were known as H achiro-ye-kinrande or decoration in the style of gold brocade by Hachiro. 68 JAPANESE POTTERY. The marks which are found upon examples afford us little assistance in identifying the objects made at this early period for they very seldom give the name of the artist or potter, the only mark being that of Kutani, which is in nearly every instance found upon the best and oldest examples alone or sometimes in conjunction with the character Fuku, signifying prosperity or happiness, and this absence of the makers’ names accords with the custom which obtained in the factories which were under the patronage of the princes, as there is little doubt was the case with those of Kaga up to a comparatively recent date. Kutani. The reds employed upon the earlier wares referred to are of rather a cold hard tint, and gold is not so freely used as it is on more modern works. Later on we find the reds assume a fuller tone, sometimes approaching a ruddy brown, and having a dappled or mottled effect which forms a very satisfactory ground for the decoration in gold which was then applied more freely than upon the earlier specimens ; the makers also commenced to sign their names, in addition to that of the factory, or more properly speaking the ware, for all pottery made in Kaga is known in Japan as Kutani ware. Specimens of the various periods, arranged according to their dates so far as our information and the advice of Japanese connoisseurs have enabled the collector to accom- plish this, are described in the section of the catalogue which KAGA. 69 deals with the red and gold wares, and these most probably include examples from the earliest years of the present century to the present day. Amongst them are several pieces which the last Shogun sent to Paris in 1867, one of which is illustrated by chromo-lithography in the frontis- piece of this work, and these are probably examples of the earliest productions of Hachiro ; there are also a number of works by the Tozan family, which are singularly beautiful both in ware and decoration ; and there are specimens of the painting of Sosentei Ichigo, works of Yeiraku, the Kioto potter, who was invited to join the kiln in 1858, down to the more recent wares made for export. The decoration of this Kutani ware shows a strong Chinese feeling as might be expected when we consider that Hachiro, and also his successors, drew their inspiration from the Tokifu. This is seen in the representation of Chinese children engaged in play, or of philosophers engaged in study, subjects which fill medallions disposed upon the grounds of red and gold ; we also find the Kara-shishi and the ho-ho, both drawn in Chinese style. And of subjects common to both countries are the Seven Gods of Fortune, and many floral compositions. The three-clawed imperial dragon of Japan indicates the nationality of the artist, and the tai and koi, the fish so beloved of the Japanese, show where the work was done. Two other features in the decoration are peculiar to the Kutani school — the minute and delicately drawn spiral and dotted pattern which forms the ground work of much of the decoration, and the leaf-work border around the stands of bowls and dishes which is so generally found in this ware. The second great division of the Kutani pottery made during the present century is that which we have called polychromatic ware. It is after the style of Ao Kutani, and the same colours are employed in its decoration, the dark green, purple, black, red and blue enamel, with brown, white and gold as well ; the tones of these colours are, however. 70 JAPANESE POTTERY. deeper and richer, and the enamels are frequently laid on in greater body than was the case in the original works, pro- ducing details in relief which contrast in a highly effective manner with the flat painting in which portions of the subjects are rendered. This description refers almost entirely to the earliest examples of the ware which were made shortly after the kiln of Yoshitaya was established, to which period the two dishes which come first in the catalogue of this section belong. The third style to which reference has been made is that in which the methods of the two schools are combined in the decoration of a single object. Several beautiful specimens of this treatment are catalogued with the poly- chromatic wares, amongst them works signed by Tozan, Kiuroku, Kachoken, and Sosentei, as well as others which bear only the name of the ware or of the province, and these objects, whether regarded as examples of either school, are worthy of the greatest praise and mark the highest development of decorative skill in both. There is, perhaps, greater variety in the clays used in Kutani wares than in those employed in any other single province. As already remarked, the bowl by Saijiro is almost a pure porcelain, and the objects by Morikage are of a fine close-grained clay, somewhat approaching porcelain in its character; the early Hachiro ware is of similar clay, whilst the first works in polychrome are of a stoneware character. Then we come upon objects in clay of a chalky nature, which give the glaze the soft and warm tone so agreeable to the eye and touch which is one of the characteristics of the ware ; and, later still, we find pure porcelain used, especially in the most modern objects. Perhaps Saijiro, when he returned from Hizen, brought with him enough porcelain earth for his work, whilst Gonzayemon, when he made the wares for Morikage to paint upon, may have used the clay from the hills of Kutani, which afterwards afforded Yoshitaya the material for his factory, for we know that he drew his supplies from this KAGA. 71 source, and the earlier Hachiro works are of very similar material to those of Gonzayemon. The clay of the stone- ware character, used at the same time, would no doubt be the ordinary clay of the country of which the chanoyii utensils had been made at the original kiln. The softer and whiter clay and porcelain sand probably came from other provinces, for we find it stated in the native records that not clay alone, but objects of pottery for decoration, were from time to time imported into the province. The works of the Kutani potters, before the export trade began, were chiefly in the shape of bowls and dishes, with some flower vases also, and they were generally thick and heavy, for the clay was of a refractory nature and difficult to work, but as regards their form, they were by no means inelegant or rude. Of the wares made for foreign markets little need be said, for they are to be seen in every town ; they are chiefly of the softer clay, or of porcelain, and are in the form of dishes, plates, tea and dinner services, and flower vases ; the favourite subject for the decoration of the latter is numerous ancient saints, after the fashion referred to in our remarks about the spurious Satsuma ; and the other objects are decorated with floral or figure subjects, in vivid colours upon bright red grounds, ornamented with highly burnished gold, altogether lacking in the tender softness of the early wares. The principal makers of these goods, of which some specimens are catalogued, are Seikan, Yuzan, Tinzan, Setsuzando, Kisaki, and the degenerate descend- ants of Tozan and Kachoken who produced such worthy work. I am indebted to Mr. Takamatsu ‘ for information about the various enamels used in the Kutani factories. The most important and distinctive of all is the red enamel, of which the chief constituent is Bengara. The origin of this name has not been ascertained ; by some * On Japanese rigmcnts. By T. Takamatsu, Tokio ; published by the Department of Science in Tokio, Daigaku, 1878. K 72 JAPANESE POTTERY. it is thought to have been derived from Bengal, whilst others say that it is the residue of safflower, hence the name, Beni-gara, as it is sometimes written ; but this derivation is probably incorrect, because analysis shows that it is red oxide of iron, containing more or less of silica, alumina, etc. It is this oxide, in combination with powdered glass, white lead and silica, that produces the red enamel for which Kutani ware is so deservedly famed. Mr. Takamatsu gives the composition of this enamel as follows : — bengara, lo parts ; shiratama, i.e,, powdered white glass, the soft or lead variety, 25 parts ; toiwtsuchi, i.e., white lead, to give fusibility to the enamel, 5 parts ; hinookaseki, i.e., silica, to decrease fusibility, 6 parts. Green enamel is composed of rokiisho, i.e., carbonate of copper, 4 parts ; shiratama, 10 parts ; and tonotsiichi, 10 parts. Yellow enamel of bengara, o’6 ; shiratama, 10 parts, and tonotsuchi, 7 parts. Scarlet enamel of finely powdered gold leaves, 0’5 ; shiratama, 10 parts ; tonotsuchi, 5 parts, and hinookaseki, 10 parts. Faint purple enamel of kawaragosu, 2 parts ; shiratama, 10 parts, and tonotsuchi, 7 parts. Deep purple enamel is obtained by mixing a certain proportion of konjo, i.e., carbonate of copper or smalt, it is not clear which, with the preceding composition. For the black enamel, a paste of binoxide of manganese in water is first applied to the glazed surface, which after being dried, is subsequently coated with a mixture of shiratama and tonot- suchi. The blues used in painting Kutani wares are of two kinds ; that for colouring the suyaki, or biscuit, is either smalt, or Chinese gosu, a paler blue ; the former is too deep a blue for the Japanese taste, whilst the latter is of too faint a shade to please them, so they mix them in order to obtain the colour they desire. In the first place, they take one part of smalt and mix with nine parts of tonotsuchi, to which a sufficient quantity of gosu is added to give the required tint ; with this composition, mixed with water, designs are painted upon the biscuit, which is afterwards glazed. The blue enamel used for painting above the KAGA. 73 glaze is made of two parts of konjo^ mixed with 5-2 of tonotsuchi, and 3'6 of shiratama. In preparing the gold for decorating upon the enamelled grounds, the best leaves are selected and powdered in a mortar at intervals for four days, a little water being added from time to time. Another tint, less bright than that of the pure gold, called awasekin, is obtained by mixing one part of gold leaf with O'l of borax. The designs are painted upon the enamel grounds, and the ware is again baked ; afterwards the gold is burnished by a piece of steel or agate until the full effect is produced. There is another factory in this province, situated at Ohi, where a kiln was established in 1681 by Choyemon, a younger brother of Ichiniu, one of the Chojiro family of Kioto. He made objects for the use of chnjin of a reddish clay, with a glaze known as ame, which is of a yellowish red colour similar to a jelly made from wheat flour ; they do not appear to have possessed any artistic merit and may perhaps be dismissed along with many of the rude wares made for use in chanoyii or for domestic use. Various common wares are still produced at this kiln. One of the Takara-Mono. The Kakuregasa. 74 JAPANESE POTTERY. The Kiku. The Imperial Crests. YAMASHIRO. HIS province, it is said, was one of those in which pottery was produced in the fifth century of our era, and it is stated that vessels were made for use in the temples of Fushimi and for the Imperial table. Whether these traditions be true or not, the chief interest in connection with the industry in the province of Yamashiro must always centre in the city of Kioto, where, for over a thousand years, the Court of the august Mikados has been held; there, for century after century, they have lived surrounded by the huge, nobles of lineage as ancient as their own, for they were descendants of the earlier sovereigns. It would appear natural to suppose that the Court of the Mikado would be the centre of the art life of the country, but during the middle ages, when the military capital, where the earlier Shogun resided from ii8o to 1573, was at Kamakura, it is probable that artists found more encouragement there in forging swords and fashioning armour for the chieftains and their squires than they could do at YAMASHIRO. 75 the more peaceful Court of Kioto, where, indeed, the Mikado and huge were often reduced to a deplorable condition of poverty and distress, as may be gathered from the account of the state of the country at the close of the sixteenth century, when the Ashikaga Shogunate came to an end, after more than two centuries lease of power. During this period, as Mr. Griffis writes in his interesting work, “the pendulum of power oscillated between Kioto and Kamakura, war was the rule, peace the exception. Feudal fights, border brawls, the seizure of lands, the rise of great clans, the building, the siege, and the destruction of castles were the staple events. Every monastery was now a strong- hold, an arsenal, or a camp. Education was neglected, and ignorance and misery prevailed. Reading and writing, except amongst the priests and nobles, were unknown arts, which warriors scorned. War was the only lucrative trade, except that of armourers and sword makers. The condition of the Mikado was deplorable ; with no revenues, and dwelling in a capital alternately in the possession of one or other hostile army ; in frequent danger of thieves, fire, or of starvation ; exposed to the weather, or dangers of war, the narrative of their sufferings excites pity in the mind of even a foreign reader, and from the native it draws the tribute of tears. The remembrance of the wrongs and sufferings of these poor Emperors fired the hearts and nerved the arms of the men who, in 1868, fought to sweep away for ever the hated feudal system by which such treatment of their sovereigns became possible.” Conditions such as these would seem to show that art could not have flourished in Kioto or elsewhere in Japan until the advent of lyeyasu, under whose peaceful and beneficent rule the person of the Mikado was respected; indeed, despite the excesses of lawless men, the devotion of the people to his person never wavered, and it is as profound to-day as at any time in past ages ; he was acknow- ledged as supreme, and as the only source from which all honours flowed, although he may not have possessed 76 JAPANESE POTTERY. much actual power, for that had been seized by the daimio, or military nobles, who, from the time when the feudal system was established in the eighth century, had virtually governed the country by force of arms, until lyeyasu broke their power. The Shogun ruled in his name, but the low'est kuge was his superior in rank ; and, notwithstanding the splendour, wealth, and power of the greater daimio under the Tokugawa Shogunate, the most powerful of them all was but a parvenu at the imperial court. With peace, the ancient arts of the country were revived ; and again, as in the earlier ages, inspiration was drawn from China and Corea. This new movement developed simultaneously in the western and eastern capitals alike, for in both Miaco and Yedo, as Kioto and Tokio were then called, artists and craftsmen in every branch of art were settled during the seventeenth century. Of the artists who worked in Yedo under the patronage of the Shogun we have ample information ; but of those who practised their crafts in Miaco less is known, for whatever concerned the imperial city and the court was not con- sidered a fitting subject for record in the chronicles which recorded the events passing in the country generally. One report, however, we have which affords an inter- esting insight into the life of Kioto about the time of which we write ; it is found in the truly remarkable work of the Dutch physician Kaempher, " who recounts what he saw V' hen he visited that city in i6go, and from it we learn how quickly Japan, perhaps the most mobile and elastic race in the world, had recovered in the space of a single century from the effects of the anarchy of ages. “ Miaco is the great magazine of all Japanese manufac- tures and commodities, and the chief mercantile town in the empire. There is scarce a house in this large capital where there is not something made or sold. Here they refine copper, coin money, print books, weave the richest stuffs with gold and silver flowers. The best and scarcest * Thr History of Japan, by Engelbertus Kxmpher, M.D., London, YAMASHIRO. 77 dies, the most artful carvings, all sorts of musical instru- ments, pictures, japan’d cabinets, all sorts of things wrought in gold and other metals, particularly in steel, as the best tempered blades and other arms are made here in the utmost perfection, as are also the richest dresses, and after the best fashion, all sorts of toys, puppets moving their heads of themselves, and numberless other things, too many to be here mention’d. In short, there is nothing can be thought of but what may be found at Miaco, and nothing, tho’ never so neatly wrought, can be imported from abroad but what some artist or other in this capital will under- take to imitate. Considering this it is no wonder that the manufactures of Miaco are become so famous throughout the empire as to be easily preferr’d to all others, tho’ perhaps inferior in some particular, only because they have the name of being made at the capital. There are but few houses in all the chief streets where there is not something to be sold, and for my part, I could not help admiring whence they can have customers enough for such an immense quantity of goods. ’Tis true, indeed, there is scarce any body passes through Miaco but what buys something or other of the manufactures of the city, either for his own use or for presents to be made to his friends and relations.” Kasmpher says little about the position of the industry of pottery in the various parts of Japan which he was permitted to visit, and the only reference he makes to the subject in the account of his visit to Kioto is what he says about the customs of the court. The religious laws ordained that the Mikado should never eat or drink twice from the same vessel, but that when once used it should immediately be destroyed. Speaking of this custom Kaempher says ; — “ His victuals must be dress’d every time in new pots, and served at table in new dishes ; both are very clean and neat, but made only of common clay, that without any considerable expense they may be laid aside or broke 78 JAPANESE POTTERY. after they have serv’d once. They are generally broke for fear they should come into the hands of laymen, for they believe religiously that if any layman shou’d presume to eat his food out of these sacred dishes it would swell and inflame his mouth and throat. The like ill effect is dreaded from the Emperor’s sacred habits, for they believe that if a layman shou’d wear them, without the Emperor’s express leave or command, they would occasion swellings and pains in all parts of his body.” " We may, in passing, mention with regard to this custom that we have learned but little as to the manner of the Emperors’ lives from our Japanese friends, for when we have questioned them upon the subject they have replied, “we cannot answer; their lives, their tastes and habits, and their palaces, are too high to be known to us ; ” and these words no doubt truly indicate the feeling which has obtained in Japan for many centuries with respect to the Mikado. But when we remember what has been said about the poverty of the Court we may suppose that Kaempher’s statement that the vessels of pottery furnished for Imperial use “ were very clean and neat, but made of common clay,” was correct, and in this connection it is interesting to mention two sake bottles which came into our possession many years ago ; these may be con- secrated pieces, preserved from destruction, perhaps when the Court removed to Tokio in 1868. They are of Awata faience, “very clean and neat,” and “made of common clay,’’ but devoid of other decoration than the kiku crest which is outlined in black upon each. Passing now to the consideration of the various wares made in Kioto about which we have authentic information, we may divide them into three distinct groups, namely : — * Customs similar to those related above appear to have existed also in Peru, for Prescott, in The Conquest of Pent, writes: — “No garment or utensil that had once belonged to the Peruvian Sovereign could be used by another. When he laid it aside it was carefully deposited in a closet kept for the purpose, and afterwards burned. It would have been saerdege to apply to vulgar uses that which had been consecrated by the touch of the Inca.” YAMASHIRO. 79 (а) Raku ware. (б) Awata faience. (c) Semi-porcelain and porcelain. Raku ware was invented by a Chinese, or, as some say a Corean, potter, named Ameya, who settled in Kioto during the sixteenth century. The information about Ameya is very slight ; he changed his name to Sokei, and died in 1625, at the age of eighty-one ; but, beyond this, nothing is known of him, and as none of the wares he made have been preserved, we can only judge of their character by those which have been made by his descendants. No pottery ever made in Japan has so completely satisfied the instincts of the chajin as that invented by Ameya, and faithfully copied by his descendants of a dozen generations ; and in our own day, although the ceremony of chanoyu is no longer in vogue, the ware appeals most strongly to the conservative feelings of even the modern Japanese connoisseur. Briefly described, raku yaki, i.e,, raku pottery, is an earthenware made by hand, without the use of the wheel ; the potting is done with a great affectation of rudeness, and the chawan and other vessels of chanoyu into which the ware is generally made are thick in substance, and misshapen and irregular in form. Another characteristic of the ware is the glazes which are employed ; they are generally mono- chrome — black, green, red, or brown — and are always laid on in considerable body, a soft and smooth effect being obtained, pleasant to the lips and the senses of the chajui, which to his mind imparts a delicate flavour to the tea when it is drunk out of the cup. Sometimes two of the colours named will be used upon a single object, but the effect is sombre, for although there is a certain lustre in these glazes, the colours employed are always of dull hues. A glance at the chawan made by Nonko, illustrated in Plate I, will give a perfect idea of the character of the ware, both as regards the potting and glazing, and pro- L 8o JAPANESE POTTERY. bably others may agree with us in the surprise we have expressed that such uncouth ware as this could have taken so strong a hold upon the minds of a people so refined in their tastes as the Japanese, and still more that con- noisseurs in other countries have so blindly accepted such objects as the highest outcome of that nation in keramic art. But whatever differences of opinion may exist upon these points, there can be no question that the ware has for three centuries attracted the admiration of generations of educated Japanese, who may perhaps have found in it a welcome contrast and relief to the splendid efforts of the lacquerers, painters, metal workers and potters of the period named ; although it may now be prized only as a relic of an ancient observance, it was in past times more highly valued than the finest works of the decorative potter, and realised fabulous sums — as much as seven hundred dollars having been paid, we are told, before chanoyu fell into disuse, for a chawan such as that by Nonko and others in the catalogue. This ware, which has fascinated the imagination of the chajin, and extorted the admiration and patronage of the princes, was, as we have said, invented by Ameya, and it has been made by his descendants for eleven or twelve generations, it is not clear from native reports which. There is, indeed, considerable uncertainty as to Ameya, and by some it is thought that he is identical with Chioyu, who is generally known as the father of raku yaki. The Ko gei Shirio, however, states that after Ameya’s death his widow became a nun, and made ware of a similar kind, which was known as Ama yaki, that is. Nun ware, and afterwards, her son Chioyu, who assumed the cognomen of Chojiro, founded the family which has since then been known by the latter name. As, according to Japanese ideas, this is the most celebrated family of potters which they have had, it may be worth while to give a list of its members from Chioyu to the present day, and it may YAMASHIRO. be mentioned that examples of the works of almost all of them are included in the collection. 1. Chioyu, otherwise Chojiro, and also known as Tanaka. 2. Jokei, who died 1642, aged 70. 3. Doniu, otherwise Kichibei, and also known as Nonko, died 1657. 4. Ichiniu, son of Doniu, otherv/ise Sahei, died i6g6. 5. Soniu, son of Ichiniu, otherwise Kichibei, died 1716. 6. Saniu, son of Soniu, died 1739. 7. Choniu, son of Saniu, otherwise Sokichi, died 1759. 8. Tokiniu, second son of Saniu, otherwise Sahei, died 1774- 9. Riyoniu, son of Choniu. 10. Tanniu, son of Riyoniu. 11. Keiniu, otherwise Kichizayemon. 12. Kichizayemon, son of Keiniu, who is now living. The works of Ameya do not appear to have attracted the notice of the daimio, who were probably too closely engaged during his time with warlike affairs to give attention to so peaceful a pursuit, but we read that Chioyu was commanded by Nobunaga to make him a chawan with red and black glazes after the style of Ameya, the form of the vessel being designed by Rikiu, the master of chanoyii. At a later period, Taico Sama summoned Chioyu to the Juraku palace in Kioto, and ordered him to make a similar cup for him. This was done, and, as the native report says, “it was most exquisite;” in recognition of his skill the potter was presented by Taico with a gold seal, upon which The Raku Seal. 82 JAPANESE POTTERY. the characters Rakn, signifying Enjoyment, were engraved, and permission was given to use it as a stamp upon his wares, and to designate the pottery by this name. The stamp appears to have been lost, for its use was discontinued about a dozen years later, bul another was procured, and similar stamps have since been used by each succeeding generation of the family. Raku ware was also made by other potters, amongst whom may be mentioned Honami Kwoyetsu, who, early in the seventeenth century, copied the style of the Chojiro family ; his wares were glazed with red only, without the use of black, and were also accounted “ quite exquisite ” by the chajin, so we may suppose that they equalled, if not surpassed, the originals in rudeness of potting and general unsightliness. Kwoyetsu, who was an amateur, sent to other provinces for clays, out of which he made objects known as Seto Kwoyetsu, Zeze Kwoyetsu, and Kaga Kwo- yetsu. His grandson, Honami Kuchiu, made raku with red glazes, and this no doubt would be of the same character. Although the raku ware, so far described, is of more interest from an archaeological than from an artistic point of view, some objects of greater merit, both as regards potting and decoration, were also made ; on these the soft raku glazes were of varied and brilliant hues, and were applied with skill and taste, producing very satisfactory results ; two or three examples of this treatment are included amongst the specimens but such works are rare, and the feeling in Japan with regard to raku yaki has always been, and is still associated with rudely potted earthenware thickly covered with soft glazes, of sombre tints, affecting in all respects as marked a contrast as was possible to the decorative school of pottery, to which it appeared to offer a standing protest on the part of conservative Japan. Mr. Takamatsu gives the following particulars of the composition of the various glazes used for raku ware : — The suyaki, or biscuit, is first coated with a mixture composed of lo parts of sliiratainn, i.e., powdered white YAMASHIRO. 83 glass, lead or soft variety, and 7 parts of tonotsuchi, i.e., white lead, made into a paste with fimori, a kind of sea- weed, which is used for glazing and starching purposes. The ware is then dried in the sun, after which it is again coated with the mixture named. The different coloured glazes are obtained by the following combinations ; — Blue : i part konjo, 0’5 part shiratama, and o‘3 part tonotsuchi. Red : 1 part odo, i.e., yellow oxide of iron, o’2 part bengara, i.e., red oxide of iron, 0’2 part hinookaseki, i.e., silica, and o'3 part tonot- suchi. Purple ; 7 parts purple gosu, 10 parts tonotsuchi, and 2 parts hinookaseki. Yellow : 9 parts shiratama, 10 parts tonotsuchi, 0‘25 part hinookaseki, and 0'6 part iyoshirome, i.e., antimony. Black ; 6 parts kurogosu, i.e., binoxide of manganese, and i‘5 part tonotsuchi. Green : 10 parts shiratama, 10 parts tonotsuchi, and 4 parts rokusho, i.e., green carbonate of copper. The objects having been coated with one or other of the compositions named above, and dried, are then ready for the upper, or final, glazes, which are prepared in the following manner : — White : 35 parts hinookaseki, and 10 parts tonotsuchi, made into a paste with funori. Green : 10 parts tonotsuchi, 2 parts rokusho, i part shiratama, and 3 parts hinookaseki. Yellow : 10 parts tonotsuchi, 3 parts hinookaseki, i’5 part odo, 4 parts shiratama, and 0*3 part iyoshirome. Black : 7 parts rokusho, 2 parts bengara, i part hinookaseki, 10 parts shiratama, and 7 parts tonotsuchi. Other names famous in Japanese estimation are recorded in native reports as having made pottery, from the closing years of the sixteenth to the first half of the seventeenth century, amongst them Shoi, Manyemon, Genjiuro, Sohaku, Moyemon, Kichibioye, Domi, Koson, Chausuya, and Chazo- meya, “ each of whom,” we read, “ possessed a merit of his own, but their art died with them,” and it may be assumed that there was nothing in their productions which 84 JAPANESE POTTERY. entitled them to live, and we are not surprised to learn that “Ninsei, who endeavoured to imitate the works of those potters, failed, and the chaire he made did not find favour in the eyes of the chajin ” Nonomura Ninsei, who, so happily for posterity, failed in his endeavours to imitate the inartistic wares then in fashion, is, without a doubt, the most distinguished of all Japanese potters, for he was the originator of decorated faience, and the founder of the purely Japanese school of painting upon pottery. He lived at the village of Ninwaji, in the vicinity of Kioto ; his cognomen was Seibioye and by the contraction of this to Sei, and the addition to it of the first syllable of the name of the village in which he lived, we have the two characters which form the name of Ninsei which he stamped upon the wares he made. [% The Seal of Ninsei. He was a potter by nature and from early youth had employed his leisure time in experimenting at various kilns in the neighbourhood of Kioto ; he essayed at Narutaki, Takagamire, Misoro, and Komatsudani, but from the nature of the clays, or from other causes, he was unsuccessful and closed these kilns. Later on he, and others who acknowledged his influence, worked in various districts of Kioto: at Awata guchi, at Omuro, at Seikanji, also known as Otowa, the original of the present Kiyomidzu factories, and at Iwakura, now the principal seat of the manufacture of Kioto faience. Subsequently the followers of the school of Ninsei became divided into two distinct groups, one consisting of those who made faience, i.e., Awata faience, and the other of those who made semi-porcelain or porcelain, who settled themselves at Kiyomidzu. YAMASHIRO. 85 Amongst the well-known potters in the first group, to which we will now refer, were : Sobiyoye, whose cognomen was Kinkozan, Seikai, whose cognomen was Tanzan, Bunzo, whose cognomen was Hozan, Yohioye, whose cognomen was Taizan, and Chiubioye, of whom little is known. The character of Ninsei’s work is so accurately described by Captain Brinkley that we cannot do better than copy his remarks : — “ In Ninsei’s hands the faience of Kioto became an object of rare beauty. Not only was the pate of his pieces close and hard, but the crackle of the buff or cream-coloured glaze was almost as regular as the meshes of a spider’s web. Only the most painstaking manipulation of materials and management of temperature in stoving could have accomplished such results. In later and less conscientious times the nature of the crackle changed so perceptibly that this one point affords a trustworthy criterion of this old and fine ware. His crackle was nearly circular ; the surface of the choice specimens of his handiwork convey the impres- sion of being covered with very fine netting rather than with a tracery of intersecting lines, and its appearance is aptly described by the Chinese term, ‘ fish-roe crackle.’ Working as he did at different places, varieties are found in the pate of his pieces ; the most common is a hard, close-grained clay, verging upon brick-red in colour, and perfectly free from foreign particles. Sometimes the colour changes to a yellowish-grey, and the texture becomes nearly as fine as pipe-clay. His monochrome glazes are scarcely less remark- able than his crackle ; first among them must be placed a metallic black run over a grass-green in such a way that the latter shows just sufficiently to correct any sombreness of effect. On the surface of this glaze, or else in reserved medallions of cream-like crackle, are painted diaper and floral designs in gold, silver, red and other coloured enamels. Another glaze, invented by him, and imitated by the chief 86 JAPANESE POTTERY. experts amongst his successors, is a pearl white, through which a pink blush seems to spread. Genuine specimens of his works are very scarce ; they do exist, and find their way into the market from time to time ; but their high value in Japan — as much as two to three hundred dollars are readily paid for a small bowl of the best description — effectually keeps them out of western collections.” Some examples have, however, found their way to Europe and two signed pieces, a perfume box and a bowl, are included in the Bowes collection with several other specimens which have been identified as being from the hand of the great potter himself, or made by the pupils who worked under his eye. These examples deserve most careful examination, for they illustrate in almost every particular the remarks just quoted, and prove the singular correctness of Captain Brinkley’s observation. A few other specimens are to be found in the collection of pottery presented to the British Museum by Mr. Aug. W. Franks, and in the South Kensington Museum. One characteristic method of decoration employed by Ninsei is not named in the extract given above ; it consists of floral and diaper patterns rendered in green, deep blue, and sometimes red, enamel colours, with gold, all upon the crackled glaze, the general effect being a harmony in green and blue ; sometimes, especially in the earlier specimens, the crackled surface of the object is almost completely covered with the designs, and the enamels are laid on in considerable body, especially the blue, whilst in the case of more modern works the buff coloured ground of the faience comes into greater prominence. All ware decorated in this style, whether it was made by Ninsei, by his imme- diate successors, or at the present time, is called Ninsei ware. During the present century a potter named Mokubei, noted for his skill in imitating the works of others, made chawan which he stamped with the seal of Ninsei ; the clay employed is of a similar character to that used YAMASHIRO, 87 by Ninsei, but the groups of figures, the Sixteen Rakan, which he painted upon them, were probably his own idea, for it is not clear that Ninsei ever used such subjects. In more recent times other potters have imitated Mokubei’s works, but their decoration is much inferior to his, and the objects are covered more closely with figures, in this respect resembling the imitation Satsuma painted at Tokio and Kobe, which are decorated with as many of the Five Hundred Rakan as the artist can crowd into the space at his command. Examples of these imitation wares are included in the catalogue. Another Kioto potter of the sixteenth century, named Zengoro, deserves recording, for he was the progenitor of numerous generations of potters, some of whom were noted for the wares they made for chanoyu, whilst others, in more recent times, have established a reputation for decorated pottery and porcelain. Zengoro appears to have made nothing better than doburo, or common clay charcoal burners, and perhaps his descendants continued to make such pottery for chanoyu for two centuries or more, for of none of them is any special mention made until we come to Riozen, tenth in descent from Zengoro, who lived in the opening years of this century. Riozen was a man of marked ability ; he was a most skilful potter, proficient alike in faience and porcelain, and, although he may not rank with Ninsei as regards the former ware, no one has surpassed him in the purity of his porcelain, in the beauty of the designs and the execu- tion of his decorative subjects. He appears to have attracted the notice and enjoyed the patronage of the imperial family, and also of the daimio, for he was the recipient of honours and other recognition from H.I.H. Prince Arisugawa ; and Tokugawa Nariyuki, daimio of Kii, so admired his works that he presented to him as a reward for his proficiency a stamp with which to M 88 JAPANESE POTTERY. The Seal of Yeiraku. mark his wares. This stamp bore the characters Yei-raku, the name of the Chinese year-period, 1403-1424 a.d., the style of decoration then in vogue having afforded Riozen the model for his most characteristic method, which con- sists of floral subjects, cranes, dragons, and so forth, drawn in the Chinese style, and rendered in burnished gold upon red grounds of singular depth, purity, and beauty. He assumed the cognomen Yeiraku as his family name, and called the decoration referred to Yeiraku kinrande, the word kinran signifying gold brocade, which not inaptly describes it. Sometimes he would associate with this subjects executed in sometsuke forming the most delicate and satisfactory combination imaginable, and the interest of the small pieces which alone he made is heightened by the dainty manner in which he would paint in gold or red upon the bottom of the cup or plate the characters setting forth his name and country — Dai Nippon, Yeiraku tsukuru, which signifies Made by Yeiraku of Great Japan. The kinrande decoration was almost invariably confined to porcelain, but several other methods were practised and applied to faience by Riozen, and his son and grandson, both of whom were good artists. They were exceedingly clever in their application of glazes, and produced charming effects in cream and grey opaque grounds, upon which subjects, generally showing Chinese feeling, were rendered in blues and browns, pinks and purple, and sometimes yellow, green, and lilac, all these colours being arranged with such consummate taste and skill as to produce most happy and harmonious results, as may be seen illustrated in the koro of faience made by Riozen himself, which is included amongst the Yeiraku ware in the catalogue of YAMASHIRO. 89 examples. Other specimens of almost equal interest illus- trate the skill of these artists in the use of black, russet- browns and reds in decoration of pottery, and in their application of monochrome glazes. The Yeiraku family also deserves credit for having improved the character of the decoration of Kaga and Owari wares, for the son of Riozen went to Kaga, and afterwards to Owari, to instruct the painters there how to apply the reds with which the name of Yeiraku is so closely identified. In conclusion, it may be mentioned that imitations of Yeiraku kinrande have been made during the last twenty years by Kanzan Denshichi, a Kiyomidzu potter, and many specimens in the possession of collectors, attributed to Yeiraku, are the work of Kanzan. Another of the early potters in Awata who deserves notice is Sobiyoye, or, to use the name by which he is best known. Kin Kozan. His most characteristic work was executed upon the hard pottery, of fine and close texture, often found in the early ware of this district. The ornamental designs which he employed consisted of con- ventional floral subjects, which were executed in very highly raised yellow, cream, and dark blue enamels, in which the patterns were so thickly traced upon the biscuit ground that the same effect was achieved as we find in Zokoku lacquer, in which a number of layers of lacquer are superimposed, and, when a sufficient body has been obtained, a pattern of the required design is incised. This process, as applied to pottery, was invented by Kin Kozan, but others subse- quently copied it, am.ongst them Hozan, a descendant of another of the early potters. The Stamp of Kin Koean. go JAPANESE POTTERY. Kin Kozan and his immediate successors also made the softer faience, producing ware of perfect quality ; the pate was most carefully manipulated, and they were par- ticularly successful in the soft and creamy character of the glazes they applied, which were as perfect in their crackle as that of Ninsei himself. The merit of the faience made by this family at a later period was recognised by the Tokugawa Shogun lyenori, who summoned one of its mem- bers to his countiy residence at Shiduoka to make some vessels for him, tv/o of which, bearing the Shogun’s crest and the potter’s signature, are catalogued amongst Suruga wares. The more recent representatives of the family have made nothing worthy of their name, and some of their work is almost the worst that has been made for export. There is still another name deserving of special mention amongst the potters associated with Kioto ; indeed, if we were content to accept the verdict of the chajin, endorsed as it is by their western disciples, it should be said that the greatest of all was that of Kenzan. Ogata Shinsei, who lived from 1663 to 1743, was the brother of the famous painter and lacquerer Ogata Korin ; his professional name was Shisui Kenzan. His first efforts appear to have been in rakii ware, after the methods of Kwoyetsu,^ but he afterwards developed a style entirely his own. His works are chiefly of small size, some made by hand, whilst the wheel was used for others. He employed the same clay as Ninsei, Kin Kozan, and other Awata potters, but his wares lacked the elegant finish and the delicate glazes which their works displayed. In decoration Kenzan shewed striking originality, the colours employed being of a more sombre character than those used by the school of Ninsei, which had then taken a strong hold upon the popular fancy, and perhaps it may have been this return by Kenzan to the earlier traditions of the art that secured for him the favour of the chajin. In the subjects YAMASHIRO. 91 of his decoration, he followed the impressionist designs of Tanniu and Yeishin, avoiding the careful and exact repre- sentation of the subject which the Ninsei school of painters loved to elaborate upon their pottery. Kenzan’s wares were, as we have said, generally somewhat rudely potted, and the surfaces were often rough, even to the point of affectation ; his favourite subjects for decoration were sprays or branches of crysanthemum, plum tree, lotus, bamboo, pine trees, and other natural subjects, executed under a bright crackled glaze in sedate colours, such as cold blue, olive brown, and black ; and often he would add a few words of poetry, descriptive of the subject, and in nearly all cases he painted his signature, in bold characters, either below the vessel or as part of the decoration. Several examples of his work The Signature oe Kenzan. in the style named are described in the catalogue, but there is one of a difterent character which exhibits a greater degree of technical skill in the potting, and also in the ornamentation. It is a chatsubo of grey pottery, carefully made upon the wheel and decorated with hands of cream colour, rich russet-red and green, upon which a number of the takam-mono are rendered in dark brown and yellov\- clays by inlaying after the mishima style. Taken altogether the examples of Kenzan’s works which we have seen indicate a marked originality in drawing, a versatility of style, and a quaintness of treatment, which 92 JAPANESE POTTERY. make it easy to understand the favour with which the chajin would regard them, for they combined something of the affected rudeness of the early wares with a judicious approach to the greater technical excellence of manipulation and the beauty of ornamentation of the new school of decorative faience which were then in favour. Kenzan also worked at Yedo and at other places, but the wares he made were, owing to the want of suitable clay, of a less satisfactory character than those produced at Kioto, and do not call for notice. Another artist whose works possess a distinctive charac- ter may be named. Takahashi Dohachi, who lived in the opening decade of the present century, was equally happy in the potting of the rudest stoneware vessels, of which an example is catalogued, as in decorated faience, in which he modelled statuettes with infinite skill and humour ; he also made dishes of faience decorated with foliage in low relief, the surfaces covered with soft glazes of the raku character, and the designs painted in purple, green, yellow, and brown, with a most harmonious effect. His wares generally bear his name, either stamped or painted. His descendants have made various descriptions of pottery ranging from dishes for chanoyn thirty years ago, potted with an extreme affectation of rudeness, and covered with thick white opaque glaze after the style of the Shino ware of Owari, to the ordinary porcelain of commerce in the present day. Douaciii; StampCii. Dohachi : Painicd. YAMASHIRO. 93 Amongst the earliest disciples of Ninsei were two Awata potters, Taizan and Tanzan, whose names have become familiar in western countries. Our knowledge of the works of their kilns is almost entirely confined to the wares which have been made during the present century, indeed we know of only one example of seventeenth or eighteenth century work, the chaburo made by Taizan which heads the list of the specimens by this potter ; it is a fine work in close and hard pottery of a greyish tint ; the crackle is minute and regular, and the decoration of a reserved character, being executed in cold blue and brown much after the style of Kenzan. Another object marked with Taizan's seal, a chawan, may be an early work, for the pate and crackle are both perfect, but it has been decorated, probably within the last twenty years, with a figure subject and the Tokugawa crest, in bright enamels and gold. And here it may be mentioned that many rare old chaivan of pure undecorated Satsuma and Kioto faience have been treated in this manner in recent times, with the view of rendering them more attractive to foreign buyers. There are two other pieces by Taizan in the collection which may perhaps belong to the last century, but all the rest have probably been made during the past thirty years, and are of the warm cream or pale yellow faience covered with thin bright glaze, rather carelessly crackled, both these features being characteristic of modern Awata ware. Such objects are more profusely decorated than the earlier works, being painted with floral and conventional designs, cranes, tortoises and birds, or with some of the iakara-mono, in gold and enamel colours, flat and raised, often in gaudy tints ; they are generally in the shape of flower vases, dishes and statuettes, and the most modern works of all are tea services of European form. Taizan is the principal maker of this export ware, for of Tanzan’s work little has been seen for ten or fifteen years past ; some examples which he sent to the Exhibition held in London in 1874 are admirable in every respect, and are especially worthy of commendation 94 JAPANESE POTTERY. for the breadth and beauty of the decoration, as may be seen illustrated in the dish amongst the examples, on which is painted, over the glaze, a group of wild geese amongst reeds, in a masterly and truthful manner in various tints of brown and yellow, with a sparing use of gold. Taizan and Tanzan both sign their works, the latter painting his name, whilst Taizan uses a stamp. Taizan. Tanzan. The native records afford us little information about the earlier history of the porcelain industry of Kioto beyond the statement that an inferior description of porcelain was made by Otowaya Kurobe in the closing years of the seventeenth century, no doubt at Kiyomidzu, a quarter in the district of Gojosaka, where the trade has always been carried on, but of the character of his works nothing is known. It is said that improvements were made during the succeeding century, and considerable proficiency appears to have been attained, if we may judge from some vessels and statuettes of semi-porcelain, painted in colours, which have come into our possession, and which have been identi- fied as having been made before 1800. In the opening years of the present century we find Kioto potters copying the methods of the Hizen kilns, and using Arita clay in making sometsuke ware ; amongst those who engaged in this new departure were Takahashi Dohachi, Waka Kitei, and Midzukoshi Yosobe, all of whose works were much esteemed. The objects they made were of small YAMASHIRO. 95 size, much smaller than those being made at the same period in Hizen and Ovvari, and they were superior to them, both in the colour of the blue employed, and in the character of the decoration, which showed refinement and reserve. The Signature of Kitei. The production of porcelain subsequently increased con- siderably, and amongst the principal makers may be named Kanzan Denshichi, Maruya Sahei, Bumppei, and Seikozan Kichiroku. Others made both porcelain and faience, the chief being Dohachi the second, Waka Kitei the second, Hichibeye, Kiyomidzu Rukubioye, Seifu Yohei, Rantei, Zoroku, and Iwakurazan. The descendants of many of the potters named still follow the trade, and some supply the export demand. The development of this industry, and the use of red in the decoration of the porcelain, have been spoken of in the earlier pages of this chapter, in which the works of Yeiraku and Kanzan are referred to. It may be repeated that the porcelain made by Kioto potters, especially that of the finest quality and purest decoration, has always been in pieces of small size ; and even since the ware has been made for export they seldom exceed eighteen inches in height. The porcelain made for export, by Dohachi, Zoroku, Hichibeye, Seifu and others, possesses no artistic merit; the blue employed is seldom of good quality, and the various coloured enamels, now often used in combination with it, produce an altogether unsatisfactory result. In concluding our remarks about the Keramic wares of ^ amashiro, mention may be made of the kiln of Uji, N g6 JAPANESE POTTERY. which was founded in 1644 by order of Kohori Masakazu, a well known chajin, whose quaint ideas regarding the forms and glazes of chanoyu utensils appear to have inspired the potters of more than one factory. The Uji kiln appears to have confined itself to the manufacture of a single kind of ware, known as Asahi ; it was copied from an ancient Corean teabowl called by that name, which signifies “morning light.” The ware is a fine, hard pottery, of a greyish-brown colour, upon which floral designs are sketchily drawn in brown, blue, and white, the whole being covered with a greenish-grey glaze, producing an effect which, no doubt, suggested a resemblance to the morning light to those who saw it with the eye of faith. An example of this ware in the collection is stamped with a seal, bearing the characters Asa-hi, which Masatada, the son of Masakazu, presented to the Uji potters of his day. P The Seal Asahi. The original factory is extinct, but a similar ware of inferior character is made at a new kiln, and stamped with the same characters. One of the Takara-Mono. The Orimono. 97 OWARI. One of the Crests of the Prince of Owari. ENTION has been made in an earlier chapter of the existence in the ninth century of three potters at Yamada, a department in this province ; they were, it is stated, formed into a guild and placed under the control of an officer of the Imperial Court. Of the progress of the industry nothing is known beyond the statement that, a century later, articles of pottery were accepted by the government in payment of taxes ; nothing further is heard of the industry until the thirteenth century, when the most distinguished of all the ancient potters, Kato Shirozayemon, appears upon the stage. Kato Shirozayemon Masakage, otherwise known as Toshiro, appears to have been a native of Seto, an inland town in Owari, then and still one of the chief centres of the industry in the country, indeed, so closely has this town been associated with the manufacture of pottery that the term Setomono (the things of Seto) has been accepted in the g8 JAPANESE POTTERY. northern part of the country as the general name for pottery, just as Karatzumono is recognised in the southern pro- vinces. The earlier efforts of Toshiro, to use the name by which he is best known, were merely vessels of coarse ware potted in the most primitive fashion, and altogether devoid of merit ; it is said that he placed these objects in the kiln upside down, so that the mouths were not glazed, and the ware was consequently known as kiichi-hage-de, or specimens with bare mouths. Not satisfied with the production of such rude wares, Toshiro visited China, in 1222, where he spent four years learning the art of potting and glazing as it was practised there. Upon his return to Japan, he experimented with the clays which he found in various provinces, but none of them proving suitable, he returned to Seto where he discovered some which answered his purpose, and estab- lished the Heiji kiln where he made the pottery known as Ko-Seto, or Old Seto. Other wares which he made about this time are known as Toshiro Karamono, which signifies that they were made from clay brought from China by Toshiro ; he appears also to have had a kiln at a place named Sohokwai, for some pottery is called by that name. Ten years after his return from China he assumed the name of Shunkei, and the tea jars which he subsequently made are known as Shunkei chaire. The clay used by Toshiro is a brown stoneware ol a fine and dense texture ; it is potted upon the wheel in a most careful manner, and no doubt the objects marked a very great advance upon anything which Japanese potters had previously produced, not only as regards the manipula- tion of the ware itself, but more especially so as regards the glazes which he applied upon it. The grounds were covered with a bright brown glaze splashed with black, irregularly dispersed upon the surface, and sometimes yellow was used, but beyond this, Toshiro’s skill did not allow him to go, and, indeed, if we may judge OWARI. 99 by the estimation in which these objects have been held in Japan for six hundred years, it may be supposed that, in the opinion of his countrymen, he had at one leap attained the acme of perfection, leaving nothing for succeeding generations to accomplish. This, no doubt, has been the feeling of the chajin for ages, and it appears still to obtain in Japan, for a writer has said, “It would be difficult to convey an adequate impression of the esteem in which choice specimens of Toshiro yaki are held in Japan. They are swathed in coverings of the costliest brocade, and kept in boxes of superb lacquer. There is scarcely any limit to the prices paid for them, and the names of their fortu- nate owners are spoken of with respect by all chajin of a proper spirit.” Two specimens of Toshiro’s work are included in the author’s collection, one of which is illustrated in Plate I so perfectly that an accurate idea of the original is conveyed. It will be seen that it is simply a small brown stoneware tea jar, under five inches in height, which certainly does not appear to possess any merit that would justify or account for the extravagant feeling of admiration with which such ware is regarded by many, for it presents no feature either as regards the potting or the glazing that an intelli- gent English potter of the present day would find any difficulty in imitating. This object came to England most carefully protected in a double case, the jar being first enveloped in a white wadded silken bag and then enclosed in a box of kiri wood decorated with gold lacquer ; this was placed in a second case, made of sakura wood, and protected by pads of white satin ; the outer case bears the late owner’s name written in gold, and the character On-chaire, the prefix signifying that the chaire is entitled to honorable consideration. Toshiro’s works are not signed, but they, in common with many of the earlier examples of stoneware made else- where, bear upon the base a circular form, known as the itoguin mark, which was made with a thread or wire in 100 JAPANESE POTTERY. finishing off the bottom of the vessel or in separating it from the wheel. The Itoguiri Mark. Toshiro’s descendants, following in his steps, made ves- sels for chanoyu. It is probable that for several centuries their works differed but little from the originals, except in trifling modifications of the glazes. The son of Toshiro appears to have invented a yellow glaze, which, when applied upon the brown body, produced what is known as ki-Seto or yellow Seto, which was considered an improvement upon the earlier ware, and this ware formed the staple product of the Seto kilns until the opening years of the present century, when sometsuke porcelain was first made. The productions of the second Toshiro were also known as ma chiuko, or middle age ware, to distinguish it from the ko-Seto made by his father. The third Toshiro reverted to the methods of his grandfather, using only black and brown glazes ; his wares are known as Kinkwazan, being made of clay from a mountain of that name in Mino. Other members of the family followed the methods of the founder and made wares at various kilns, all of which are now extinct, and none of their works appear to have been preserved. But, although these ancient kilns no longer exist, the descendants of Toshiro have continued to practise the industry until the present day, and many of the potters now working at Seto claim him as their ancestor. For several centuries little progress appears to have OWARI. lOI been made in the direction of beauty of form or decoration, and the most cherished wares named in the native records are in some instances even ruder than those made by Toshiro. It has been said that the second Toshiro invented ki-Seto ware, having for the first time used yellow glaze in place of the brown and black previously employed. It is related that a chawan made by him, and once in the possession of Sodani Hakuan, is still in existence in Japan, having been presented to Prince Inaba, of Sagami, and preserved in his family for generations, but now it is the property of a merchant. The characteristic of ki-Seto ware is the glaze which is employed ; it is a thin, transparent bright yellow, with patches of bluish-green, and those speci- mens with the deepest yellow are most highly prized. Two examples of sixteenth and seventeenth century work will be found described in the collection. Other wares are known by their colour, or by the names of the chajin by whom or for whom they were made. One kind, especially rare and highly valued, called Seto-kuro, was made about the fifteenth century, and an authenticated example is illustrated in Plate I ; it is a circular pot of hard dark grey pottery, thick and heavy, its rough surface partially covered with black glaze, altogether affording an admirable example of the undecorated ware of medieval times ; the derivation of the name is not clear, but it is not unlikely that it is so called from its colour, for kiiro signifies black. Imitations of Seto-kuro were made in the earlier years of the present century by an amateur named Hirasawa Kuro who may have appropriated the cognomen Kuro when he copied the ware. Another description of pottery was made during the fifteenth century by order of a chajin named Shino Soshin, who directed a Seto potter to make him tea utensils after a certain fashion. The ware itself was of the usual rough quality then in vogue, but its special beauty was found in the glaze with which it was covered and which has given 102 JAPANESE POTTERY. the name of Shim yaki to it. It is an opaque white glaze laid on thickly ; the surface is irregular, being full of bubbles as if the glaze had been poured on in a semi-fused con- dition. This glaze continued to be used by various Owari potters, and excellent work was produced up to the last century. Oribe yaki is another description of ware named after a chajin, Furuta Oribe-no-Kami Shigeyoshi, who lived in the sixteenth century, and directed a Seto potter to make him chanoyu services after his own idea. The body of the ware is a fairly well manipulated pottery, which is covered with a rather thick and soft glaze of the Shino character, in various colours, including dark brown, sedate green and cream, and ornamented with slight sketches of cranes, plum flowers, and often with a form, consisting of latticed bars and two circles interlaced, which may have been the crest of Shigeyoshi. In the opinion of the chajin, such ware is considered to be “ quite tasteful,” and those who care to gauge the standard of their taste may do so by the inspection of an early example of the ware, an heirloom in the family of the Prince of Suwo, which has come into the author’s possession. Another of these chanoyu wares is known as Genipin yaki, having been made by a Corean potter named Chin Gempin, who settled at Nagoya in the sixteenth century. As an amateur he amused himself by making chawan, an example of which is catalogued ; it is grey pottery, covered with soft crackled glaze, and ornamented with cranes and shrubs, very rudely painted in cold blue and black under the glaze. Such ware was no doubt a repro- duction of some ancient Corean style, and was, therefore, highly esteemed by the tea drinkers. The art of Gempin died with him, but imitations are still made. Still another of the early wares associated with Seto is a fine light grey pottery, covered with cream coloured glaze. It is called Seto-suke, and was first made towards the close of the seventeenth century, at Yokkaichi in Ise, by a native OWARI. 103 of Owari, who afterwards returned to his native province where he carried on his industry. One of the most ancient of the Owari kilns is that situated at Tokanabe, which is supposed to have been founded at almost as early a date as those at Seto. Nothing is known of the earlier productions of this factory, but the wares made since the sixteenth century have been nothing better than coarse pottery of a reddish-brown, generally unglazed, decorated with birds, trees, and so forth, incised in the clay. Of princely patronage in connection with the Owari factories little is heard ; probably the dominant family of Tokugawa resided chiefly in Yedo, the seat of their Shogun- ate, but we are told that Tokugawa Mitsutomo ordered a kiln to be constructed about 1624, at Ofuke, within the park of his castle at Nagoya, for the manufacture of chaire and other tea vessels. These wares, of the same rough kind as was made at the Seto factories, were called Ofuke yaki. Amongst the more recent kilns where stoneware or earthenware was made, there are two or three which deserve mention. One was founded at Nagoya in the earlier years of the present century, by Hoki Toyosuke, who in- vented the ware which goes by his name ; it is a buff earthenware or coarse faience, generally made in the form of dishes, vases, cake boxes, and other objects for domestic use, but we occasionally see graphically modelled statuettes of some of the Gods of Fortune, an example of which, marked with the seal of Toyosuke himself, is catalogued. There are two descriptions of ware, one in which the The Seal of Toyosuke. faience or earthenware is covered with opaque and crackled white glaze, and ornamented with splashes of dark green o 104 JAPANESE POTTERY. glaze of a raku character, and the other in which the exteriors of the objects are coated with black or dark green lacquer, upon which various designs are traced in gold, silver, and colours ; in some instances, floral sprays and pendant flower baskets are painted in black or brown upon the crackled glaze. The ware is known as Toyosiike raku yaki. At Akazu, a place in the vicinity of Seto, a factory has existed for a century or more at which statuettes of saints and personages renowned in history have been made ; they are of stoneware or faience and are noteworthy for the vigour and humour, the latter sometimes of the broadest, with which they are modelled, rather than for the refinement of the work. Another kiln at Inaki, in the neighbourhood of Nagoya, has produced pottery which is esteemed in Japan. The oldest work, made early in the present century, is a grey stoneware covered with thick opaque glaze, of the Shino style, but applied more evenly ; the decoration, consisting generally of foliage and trees, is rendered in browns and peculiarly vivid greens and russet-reds painted over the glaze. The kiln is situated near the castle of Inuyama, which gives its name to the ware. Imitations of the early works have been made and some of them bear the forged signature of Kenzan, the Kioto potter. Forged Signature of Kenzan. The various wares so far described represent the pro- ductions of the Owari kilns from the time of Toshiro to the beginning of the present century ; they all shew the OWARI. 105 influence which his example and methods had exercised upon the potters of his native province, for, whilst those of Hizen had been making decorated porcelain for three cen- turies past, and the kilns of Kioto and Kaga had been producing painted faience and pottery from the time of Ninsei and Saijiro, the Seto potters had remained steadfast in their adherence to the traditions of Toshiro and continued to make stoneware and earthenware vessels with, perhaps, some improvement in the quality and variety of the glazes but with only the slightest attempt at decoration. These wares were designated hogio, or principal work, but when the new industry of making pure porcelain was introduced in the opening years of the present century, the latter, for the sake of distinction, was called shinsei jiki, or new make. The potters of Owari derived their knowledge of the manufacture of porcelain from those in Hizen. Tamikichi, the younger brother of Kato Kichizayemon, a descendant of Toshiro, was sent to the latter province in 1801 where he acquired a knowledge of the processes of making and decorating porcelain. He married the daughter of an Arita potter and having spent four years in Hizen, he returned to Seto, and established the industry which has since become the staple trade of the province, and has grown to such an extent that it now rivals in importance that of Hizen itself; indeed, the export demand for porcelain is almost entirely supplied by these two provinces, that decorated in various colours and gold being from Hizen, and that painted in blue alone coming from Owari. The Seto potters have until recently confined themselves to the sometsuke decoration, blue under the glaze, on their porcelain, and, although this method is also practised to some extent both in Hizen and Kioto, it is the most intimately associated with Owari. The earliest efforts appear to have been executed in relief, the decoration of flowers, birds, and so forth, being modelled in the white porcelain and disposed upon deep blue grounds painted under the glaze. io6 JAPANESE POTTERY. Very soon, however, the decoration assumed a more artistic character, generally taking the form of natural subjects painted with remarkable finish and delicacy in pure cobalt blue under the glaze, with results far superior to those achieved by the artists in other provinces. In the manipulation of the porcelain they also surpassed their rivals, and produced objects which are surprising even to European potters as examples of difficulties surmounted. These remarks are perfectly illustrated by three large plaques which are catalogued amongst the examples of sometsiike ware. They were made by Kawamoto Masukichi for the Vienna Exhibition of 1873. Whether viewed as examples of the potter’s art, or as illustrations of decora- tion, they are perfect : the skill displayed in the preparation and successful firing of such large slabs — they measure from 31 to 37 inches in length, and from 22 to 25 inches in breadth — equals that shown in any branch of European pottery ; remarkably fiat and true throughout, they show no fiaw of any kind. The porcelain itself is of the purest and most translucent quality, and is covered with a fine and Nippon, Seto, Kawamoto Masukichi, seisu. Made by Kawamoto Masukichi, Seto, Japan. OWARI. 107 brilliant glaze. The subjects with which they are decorated are painted in a blue of singularly rich and pure tone, skilfully graduated to suit the exigencies of the subjects depicted, which comprise landscapes, birds, flowers, and upon one of them a scene from an ancient drama, all of which are rendered with great delicacy in the details and boldness in the leading lines. These plaques may be accepted as illustrating the high- est development of the Seto school of sometsuke, which was attained about thirty years ago. In the production of large pieces of porcelain, and in their decoration, no one has surpassed Kawamoto Masukichi, but his more recent works, made for export, have shown a distinct deterioration in all respects : in the character of the porcelain, the colour of the blues, and the drawing alike. Amongst the potters and artists who have devoted themselves to the production of small pieces, we may mention Kawamoto Hansuke, Kato Gosuke, and Fuji Shiubei, whose works leave nothing to be desired in the purity of the ware, or in the beauty of the colour and painting. Kawamoto Hansuke. The admiration which the exhibitions of Owari sometsuke porcelain attracted at Vienna in 1873, and at Philadelphia in 1876, led to a large export demand, and this has been accompanied by a steady decline in the character of the porcelain and decoration. Tea and dinner services, flower vases, and flower pots, dishes, and other objects have been produced by the million, and there is not now a western country which is not familiar with the ware. Coloured enamels, such as green and red, and sometimes gold, have been added in the decoration to the inimitable blue to suit the ideas of traders as to what is suitable for export, and the refined and beautiful sometsuke decoration with which the io8 JAPANESE POTTERY. Seto artists of a generation ago will ever remain identified, is now becoming almost a thing of the past. Amongst the wares made for export may be mentioned vases modelled in imitation of Greek forms ; imitations of inlaid metal, the pattern being outlined in gold and silver upon bronze and iron coloured grounds ; and the nishiki and kinran styles are sometimes combined with the soniet- suke method, but the effects produced are entirely unsatis- factory, and although a member of the Yeiraku family has joined the Seto kilns, his work is by no means equal to that of his Kioto relatives. Seal of Yeiraku, of Owari. In addition to the names of the potters already given, the following may be mentioned as amongst those who have worked at the Seto kilns during the last thirty years ; — Gorobei, Gantaro, Shigezero, Hanjen, Kishitaro, Kenjiu, Jiukichi, Matsuzaimon, Shigejiu, Kanshiro, and Monzaimon, all of whom belong to the Kato family and are descendants of Toshiro ; Meisan, Takeuchi Chiubeye, Fujisima Sentaro, Hoku Han, Abrashime, Hogiokuyen Senpachi, Kiju, Shintoken Fudesuke, and Akiyama Teizi. The decoration of porcelain by means of the process of cloisonne enamelling is also practised in Owari. The application of this process to porcelain is of recent origin, having been commenced in 1870 at Nagoya when the ancient works upon copper were brought to light. During the succeeding ten years immense efforts were made to imitate these works, and porcelain cups and large numbers of vases and dishes of thin copper, in the old forms, were sent to Europe, notably to the Paris Exhibition in 1878. These were ornamented with designs similar to those OWARI. log found upon the original works, but in colouring, drawing and workmanship they were nothing but travesties of the beautiful objects they were designed to imitate. So com- plete was the failure that the attempt was abandoned and the public company which had been formed for the pur- pose, the Shippo Kuwai-sha, or Enamel Company, turned its attention to the manufacture of goods more suitable for export. These they chiefly executed upon porcelain bases, with birds, foliage, and diaper patterns outlined in metal cloisons, filled in with bright-coloured soft enamel pastes vitrifying at a very low temperature but not susceptible of a fine polish. Some work is also done upon thick copper and brass grounds, which allow of harder pastes Dai Nippon, Shippo Kuwaisha, seizo. The Shippo Company of Great Japan ynade this. being used as the object can be subjected to greater heat. But the principal seats of the manufacture of cloi- sonne enamel on metal for export are now at Tokio and Yokohama, where immense quantities are produced under the influence of French artists who, whilst copying in some sort of fashion native subjects of decoration, have discarded the colouring and substituted a scheme of their own, the principal features of which are garish turquoise, coarse yel- no JAPANESE POTTERY. lows, and browns. It is this mechanical work, some of which is m.ade in the prisons of Tokio, just as oakum is picked in those of this country, that is now shipped to western markets as Japanese cloisonne enamel. One other application of this method of decoration to porcelain may be mentioned, namely, that in which lacquer is used in place of the vitreous pastes generally employed. The outlines of the subject are rendered in fine metal cloisons, and the patterns filled in with green, brown, red, and silver lacquer, the tints used being rich and reserved in tone and the effect often quite satisfactory. OuMAi. — T he Plum Tree 1 1 1 MU SASH I. One of the Crests of the Prince of Owari. The Badge of the Tokugawa Shogunate. HE prehistoric remains discovered in the Omori shell heaps and at Kawasaki in this province, have been so fully noticed in the second chapter of this work that it is un- necessary to again refer to them. It would seem reasonable to suppose that Tokio, the residence of the Tokugawa Shogunate during its long lease of power, and now the chief capital * of the country and the place of residence of the Mikado, would have afforded much of interest in connection with our subject, but although it was the princi- pal seat of the arts of painting and lacquer working during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, we do not find any * “There are two capitals in Japan at the present day, the Eastern and the Western, named respectively Tokio and Kioto (or Saikio). At the former, before the Restoration, the Shogun held his Court ; it is now the residence of the Mikado, who removed to it from Kioto, in 1868. The latter is officially known as Saikio {Sai, western, /cio, capital) ; before the Restoration it was called Kioto or Miako, the first being the Chinese, and the second the Japanese, rendering of the character in which the name was written ; the literal meaning of Miako is the ‘ Imperial capital residence of the Mikado.’ The earlier names of the Eastern capital ( 7 b, eastern, /:/o, capital) were Yedo, the Japanese style, signifying the ‘ Door of the Shore,’ and Koto, the Chinese form .” — -Japanese Enamels. P 1 12 JAPANESE POTTERY. • important school of pottery connected with it. There is not even any mention in the records of the manufacture of chanoyii vessels here in the middle ages, and indeed it may be said that Tokio, as a city, dates only from the time of lyeyasu, for when he adopted it as the seat of his Shogun- ate, it was nothing more than a fortress with a number of scattered villages around it. At one of these villages, that of Imado, there was about that time a kiln at which kawarake or unglazed earthen- ware was made ; the wares were of the rudest kind, and although this kiln existed for two hundred and fifty years or more, under the shadow of the luxurious Court of the Shogun, it has preserved the simplicity of its productions, and to-day the objects manufactured there are as rude and inartistic as those which were made when the Tokugawa rule commenced. During this long period the Imado kiln appears to have produced nothing much better than the furnaces used in chanoyn for boiling water ; it did not even glaze its pottery until 1716, and when it did step a little aside from its old traditions at a later period, it went no further in the direction of artistic pottery than to make such raku yaki as the flower basket included in the catalogue, and statuettes or dolls for children, “the value of which,” as a Japanese friend remarks, “ lies in the beauty which they lack.” The conservative feeling which animates so many Japan- ese connoisseurs, and leads them to value so highly the ruder works of pottery, is well illustrated by the care with which the names of the potters who made them are pre- served in the records ; for instance, we are told that Shirai Hankichi made furnaces in 1684, that Hankichi II made the same kind of objects in 1716, and that Hankichi IV and V followed in the footsteps of their forefathers, the latter changing his name to Rosai. This family no doubt still flourishes, for we read that in 1868, Hankichi VII occupied himself in making furnaces for chanoyn, for that MUSASHI. II3 dignified ceremony survived even until then, although, alas ! it exists no longer, except, perhaps, in some retired country spots. Other names connected with the Imado kilns are also preserved; Nakajo, it is stated, made kawarake sake cups in 1789 for the use of the Shogun in the New Year’s festival, and Sakune Benjiro, as recently as 1848, furnished the chajin with chawan which satisfied their most exacting taste ; and last of all we read that Nakajo IV, whose ancestors had made cups for the Shogun, was permitted to make omikitsiibo of the same rude kawarake for H.I.M. the Mikado — truly a notable factory, for its history illustrates well the veneration of the Japanese people for the traditions and antiquities of their country and their love for the simplicity which characterised the lives of their ancestors. And this feeling is also exhibited in a custom which has long prevailed of presenting with a gift, no matter how costly or magnificent it may be, a strip of dried fish, wrapped in paper and tied up in a prescribed fashion, as a sign that although now a great and polished nation, its ancestors were only humble fishermen — how different a feeling is this to that which animates the nouveau riche in western countries ! Another description of pottery is associated with the Capital of the Shogun ; it is known as Yedo Banko, and was made by Gozayemon, whose history is related in the chapter dealing with Ise pottery ; his son and grandson continued to make the same ware after his death, and then the kiln appears to have been closed. It is a light buff earthenware of rather soft body, and is evidently an imita- tion of Satsuma faience, and the decoration, executed in blue under the glaze, and red over the glaze, also bears some relation to one of the styles of that school. Two examples are catalogued, one of which is ornamented with a princely crest and phrases signifying prosperity, longevity, fortune, freedom, happiness, and luck, subjects which are not inappropriate upon an object painted in such a city as JAPANESE POTTERY. II4 Yedo, which was filled with nobles whose lives were devoted to luxury and idleness. Fuku. Prosperity, Happiness, ami I^nck. In more recent times, imitations of Kioto pottery have been made by Miura Kenya, a native of Tokio and an amateur potter, who copied the works of Kenzan, and adapted to the decoration of his works the methods employed by Haritsu, a lacquer worker of the seventeenth century, who ornamented his ware with insects, grasses, and flowers; these subjects Kenya applied to the raku yaki, which he made at a small kiln in his house at Asakusa, a district of Tokio. The most important of the Tokio kilns was situated at a place of great historic interest, Shiba, a group of temples, which has been one of the three burial places of the Tokugawa family since 1623 ; another was at Uyeno, a suburb of Tokio ; and the third, where the great lyeyasu was interred, is at Nikko, a city a hundred miles to the north of the capital. The Shiba kiln was founded as recently as 1874, when one of the temples was destroyed by fire, and, although it appears to have existed for only about a dozen years, for we believe it is now extinct, it produced large quantities of tbe decorated faience which has given rise to much mis- understanding upon the part of collectors, for it was these wares, referred to in the chapter upon Satsuma faience, that MUSASHI. II5 were dispersed in Europe under the false name of ancient Satsuma. Some of the objects were made of Satsuma clay, whilst others were of other cla}^s, perhaps Kioto, but all were painted at Shiba, under the direction of an artist named Naruse Waruke, with groups of the Five Hundred Rakan in enamel colours, washes, and gold, as named in the chapter referred to. Other wares, of faience and semi- porcelain, were made in Tokio by a potter named Seisi and decorated after the style of the Satsuma school, but none of them possesses any artistic merit. The Shiba factory, as we have said, exists no longer, but we are told that the highly gilded ware which is now so exten- sively made at Yokohama for export is decorated by the painters who were connected with it. A numerous body of painters in Tokio have devoted themselves to the decoration of wares made elsewhere, and nearly all the Mino porcelain is painted in this city. The decoration of these wares is generally of a trivial character, but much good work is done upon faience sent from Sat- suma to be painted ; several examples of this are included in the catalogue, and the artists of this school are justly celebrated for the freedom, skill, and artistic feeling of much of their work ; natural objects, birds, flowers, and so forth are rendered with perfect fidelity, and their orna- mental borders of diaper and fringe designs show great beauty of detail and possess a character especially their own which differs from that which obtains with the schools else- where throughout the country. An important kiln, which from its foundation has been devoted to the manufacture of wares for export was esta- blished in i860 at Ota, in the vicinity of Yokohama, by a merchant of that town named Suzuki Yasubeye who engaged Kozan Miyakawa, a native of Makuzu, a district in Kioto, to superintend it. Kozan was an artist of genius, and, as a skilful potter JAPANESE POTTERY. 1 16 may rank with any in Japan in the past or in the present day. Yasubeye in establishing the kiln had in view the imitation of Satsuma faience for export, and for this pur- pose clay was brought from that province to Ota. Kozan showed much ingenuity in copying both the pate and the decoration of the Satsuma potter and some of his works are most difficult to distinguish from the genuine ware, as they resemble them alike in faience, crackle, and in decoration, and his early wares, like them, do not bear any mark or stamp. A number of these objects were bought as Satsuma by the Collector about 1870, and two or three of them were erroneously classified under that denomination in Keramic Art of Japan, but all these imitations have since been weeded out and are now catalogued with numerous other examples of Kozan’s work, some of which bear his signature, forming an interesting group which sufficiently illustrates his imitation of nishiki Satsuma and also of decorated Kioto faience. Makuzu Ko.iAN. Kozan did not long content himself with imitating the works of others, but struck out a path of his own and produced many objects of great merit which he signed with MU SASH I. II7 his name, and these works are known in Japan as Makuzu yaki of Yokohama, to distinguish them from the wares made at Makuzu in Kioto. They are quite original in character and material, some being of roughly modelled stoneware splashed with brown and other glazes, with applied decoration in relief of figures modelled in faience ; and amongst the specimens which he sent to the Paris Exhibition of 1878 were birds of almost life-size, some modelled with consummate skill and in perfect taste, but others of a rococo style which marked a degeneration of his taste, and later still the kiln appears to have been devoted to the manu- facture of tawdry gilded faience to meet the demands of foreign markets. Chokei Paintint. the Five Hundred Rakan. ii8 ISE. LTHOUGH this province was the birthplace of Gorodayu Shosui pottery does not appear to have been made here until the last century. The industry was originated, in 1736, by Numanami Gozayemon, a wealthy merchant in the town of Kuwana, and a chajin well known for his devotion to the ceremony of chanoyu ; he occupied his leisure in making utensils for the ceremony in raku yaki, not only for his own use, but also for presenta- tion to his friends, and, at a small kiln which he opened at the village of Obuke, he made many curious objects of a character which commended them to the admiration of his brother chajin, and, indeed, became so famous throughout the country that he was summoned to the court of the Shogun by lyeharu, in 1786. On arriving at Yedo, he took up his residence at the village of Komme, and occupied himself, still only as an amateur, in making objects of pottery which were held in high estimation by the connoisseurs of the western capital. Gozayemon’s fame in Yedo rested upon his works in faience which marked a distinct advance upon the raku yaki upon which he had established his reputation in the earlier ISE. I IQ years of his life ; it is a matter of dispute as to when he commenced to make faience, whether before or after his removal to the capital, and the same doubt prevails as to the time when he began to use the seal bearing the character Banko with which he marked his wares. Banko. The Seal of Gozayemon. It is probable, however, that faience was made, and the seal used, by Gozayemon whilst he was at Obuke, and two examples catalogued have been identified as his work before he removed to Yedo. These objects are of a fine, hard buff semi-faience, covered with a thin crackled glaze, and decorated with borders of diaper, fringe, and other designs, and with subjects of a Chinese character; the colours employed are a bright russet-red over the glaze, and a smalt- blue under the glaze, and, in one of them, gold is used in rendering the subject illustrated. Both pieces are stamped with the seal Banko. Such seals as this have, from time to time, as we have related, been presented to the potters of Japan by their patrons, but there is no record of how Gozayemon came to use his ; the word is composed of two characters, Ban.^ ten thousand, and /\o, old or ancient, the combination signifying ancient ten thousand, a sentiment which would naturally he agreeable to a Japanese, especially to a cliajin. The wares made by Gozayemon have been known as Ko-Banko, to distinguish them from those subsequently made at the Ise factories, which are known by the simple name of Banko ware. Gozayemon died in 1800, whether at Yedo or in Ise is not known. He had attained a great reputation in the capital, and many stories are related about his versatility, and the skill with which he imitated Chinese and Kioto Q 120 JAPANESE POTTERY. wares ; but very few of his works are now to be seen, and these do not present much variety, either as regards the character of the ware or the decoration, and probably the old amateur’s reputation rested much upon the favour in which he was held at Court, and his wares may have been appreciated in proportion to the difficulty of obtaining them, for, although they are somewhat artistic, their merit is not particularly great. Gozayemon’s descendants did not inherit his skill, and little is heard of them until 1831, when a potter named Mori Yusetsu obtained permission from a grandson to use the family seal upon the wares which he intended to make at a factory he had established in Ise. This was the recommencement of the industry in the province, after a suspension of nearly fifty years ; the kilns were established at the towns of Kuwana and Yokkaichi, where the trade is still carried on to a large extent. The wares made by Mori Yusetsu and his successors differ altogether from those of the earlier kiln, and they have a character entirely their own, distinct from anything made at other factories in Japan, or, so far as we know, elsewhere. The clays used are fine in quality and intensely tough ; the articles are almost always potted by hand, not thrown on the wheel or moulded, and are fired at a great heat. Objects of this class are generally of very small size, chiefly in the shape of diminutive teapots, which are of drab, brown, iron-red, or grey clays, manipulated by the fingers to great thinness, often no thicker than a playing card, and unglazed. Mori Uti. The Mori Family. Yusetsu. Nippon. Yusetsu, Japan. ISE. I2I the perfect vitrification in the kiln rendering that process unnecessary. These objects, which are extremely strong and tough, are ornamented in many characteristic ways, which show the peculiar capabilities of the material ; the handles, which are hollow, are perforated with minute patterns executed with perfect precision ; slender chains of many links, knobs which revolve in their sockets, as if they were made of metal, and porcelain plaques are sometimes inserted in panels of the bodies. Other varieties are met with, amongst them some of a variegated appearance, an effect arrived at by the admixture of clays of different colours which gives the resemblance of the graining of wood, which is known as mokiime ware. These, and many other methods of decoration are in common use with the Ise potter, but there is one style even more common which was introduced by Mori Yusetsu when he opened his kiln, and which still remains the most characteristic decoration of all. This is accomplished by means of numerous seals and marks being stamped into the biscuit body of the objects, chiefly teapots. These sometimes cover almost the entire surface of the object, and an example is catalogued upon which fifteen different stamps (facsimiles of which are shown with the description of the piece) are impressed on a pot, the height of which is only 2f inches. Some of these stamps are the seals of the maker and factory, others either the name of the ware, or expressions of a desire for longevity, such as “A thousand autumns ; ” and the words Saiyaku Fuyeki, Banko. Yofuken. Senshu. Banko ll-'a/x'. Vofu Factory. A Thousand Antiimns. which refer to the unvarying character of the clay used in the manufacture of this description of Banko ware. It 122 JAPANESE POTTERY. Saiyakli Fuyeki. has, indeed, been thought by some that the word banko itself, which may be translated as “ ancient ten thousand,” or, as “ for ever,” is derived from the character of the ware, which by its hardness and perfect vitrification is indestructible by the influence of time alone ; but this is not so, for we know that the seal was used for fifty years or more before such ware was made. And often, even on the commonest ware, we find painted some phrase indica- tive of a pleasant life. Jo CHIU MAIA AKI UEN YEN NO OMOMUKI. Even in the city there is some aspect of the country. Besides these, the most original productions of the Ise kilns, other wares are made, amongst them a fine buff faience, covered with bright green glaze, of which examples may occasionally be seen, but the most common descriptions are dishes and vases of the same tough, brown clay, made on the wheel, which are glazed with a whitish, semi-transparent varnish, which imparts a grey tone to the ware ; and upon this surface human figures, landscapes, and flowers, are painted in bright enamel colours, laid on so thickly as to produce designs in relief ; but the effect is not satisfactory, especially as it is illustrated by the wares of the present time, and, indeed, nothing that is now pro- duced at the Ise kilns is of interest to the collector. 123 BIZEN. Crest of the Prince of Bizen. HIS province was probably one of the earliest seats of the industry in Japan, for the ancient records speak of a vase for use in the temple being made during the reign of Suizhin, b.c, 97, but the kilns with which we have to deal were not founded until the thirteenth century. The factories have always been situated in the neighbourhood of the town of Imbe, and, from their foundation the wares made . have shown no particular change in material or character, the potters having confined themselves to the use of a peculiarly hard and extremely dense clay of a reddish-brown colour which they have fashioned into chanoyu vessels, small flower vases, and statu- ettes of the Seven gods of Fortune, the latter being a favourite subject, and often showing remarkable skill and humour in the modelling. The stoneware of this province is the hardest and the closest in texture of any made in Japan, and the objects themselves are generally of a heavy and solid character, covered with a salt glaze without brightness. 124 JAPANESE POTTERY. Although the wares are all made at Imbe, they are divided into three classes known as Imbe, Migakite, and Hitasuki, each of which possesses features which enable a Japanese connoisseur to distinguish them one from the other ; but to the European eye they appear all alike, except, perhaps, some slight variation in the density or colour of the clay, or some difference in the tint or brilliancy of the glaze. The most usual glaze is a deep rich brown, and in the case of the Imbe ware this is splashed slightly with yellow ; the clay of Hitasuki ware is of a more porous nature than that generally employed, and there are some rude lines in the decoration which are intended to give the idea that it is tied with a cord ; this fanciful result, which was very pleasing to the orthodox chajin, is thus referred to by Captain Brinkley, who appears to agree with the author in his estimate of the undecorated wares of Japan: “A tolerable idea of the pottery’s qualification, as well as of the Tea Club’s proclivities, may be formed from the fact that this marbled effect is obtained by tying straw ropes round the piece before placing it in the oven, and that an approved specimen of the rough unglazed result, which resembles nothing more than a half-baked brick, easily finds a purchaser to-day at from 50 to 100 dollars.” The Migakite is the most carefully potted of any of these wares, the clay is particularly fine, and the brown glaze brilliant and evenly applied. Painted Bizen is the rarest description of all, but we find little to admire in it, for it is merely a fine brown stoneware, partially painted with light and dark brown and sombre green glazes, and speckled here and there with spots of white enamel. Connoisseurs, how- ever, may form their own opinion by an inspection of the examples catalogued, which include some specimens selected for the Collector by native experts in Tokio that he would not otherwise have ventured to consider genuine exam- ples of such cherished ware. The generic names for the wares are Ko- Bizen for those made from the thirteenth to the close of the sixteenth century; and Bizen for those made BIZEN. 125 subsequent to that time. The more recent productions of these factories, made for export, are decidedly inferior, the clay coarser in texture and lighter in colour, and the glazes and modelling much poorer than those of the earlier works. . Sometimes even Tossi-toku, the most austere and venerable of them all, unbends and lays aside his staff and book to join in the gambols of little children.” 126 CHIKUZEN. Crest of the Prince of Chikuzen. HIS is another of the numerous kilns which were founded by the Princes of Japan when they returned from Taiko Sama’s expedition to Corea, in the closing years of the six- teenth century. Kuroda Nagamasa, the lord of Chikuzen, brought with him several Corean potters, one of whom became naturalized and adopted the name of Hachizo. His father- in-law, Shinkuro, subsequently joined him, and these two potters became famous as makers of what is known as Ko-Takatori, that is, old Takatori ware. The earliest examples are of a dark brown stoneware of close texture, particularly hard, and the ornamentation is of a Chinese character, impressed or in relief, and covered with a very bright metallic glaze of brown and greyish-green. Other objects were made of lighter brown and grey stoneware with a variety of glazes, dark brown splashed with black, bluish-grey, and drab. On the death of Nagamasa, 1624-1643, Tadayuki, his successor, took the kiln under his protection and sent Hachizo, and his son Hachiroyemon, to the chajin Kobori Masakazu, of Yenshiu, to receive instructions as to the CHIKUZEN. 127 style of ware then in vogue. On their return to Takatori they were joined by Igarashi Jizayemon, an artist from the princely factory of Karatzu, who, being acquainted with the methods employed by the Seto potters, imparted the secret to his companions with the result that an improvement took place in the productions of the kiln, which were in the form of chaire, ukimono, etc., made of light brown and grey stoneware, with bright glazes, some white, green, brown, and drab. The wares made during the second period are known as Yenshiu Takatori, this name being applied to all wares made after 1645. From time to time the kiln was moved whenever it became necessary to secure a fresh supply of material, and we need not mention all the migrations, full particulars of which are given in the native records ; it is enough to say that the original factory was at the village of Sobara, where’ the ko-Takatori ware was made, and that a second kiln was established at Foukowoka prior to 1644. The ancient wares, already referred to, are strictly those which strike the fancy of the chajin, and this is especially so with the ko-Takatori for which the admiration has always been most extravagant ; in the later wares we find more variety of modelling and glazing, but still all these early wares must be classed amongst the undecorated pottery of the country, the beauties of which are apparent only to the eye of the native connoisseur. The factories named are still in existence, but appear now to make nothing except objects for ordinary use. One of ihe Takara-Mono. The Makimono. R 128 NAGATO. Crest of the Prince of Hagi, Nagato. OME very interesting wares have been pro- duced at the factory of Matsumoto which was established at Hagi, in this province, in the period of Yeisho, 1504 to 1520, and still exists, and a number of highly interesting examples are included in the list of specimens. The wares are divided into two kinds, namely, those made prior to 1644, which are called Ko-Hagi or old Hagi, and those made subsequently, which go by the name of Matsumoto Hagi. The information available about the foundation of the kiln is very slight, but when we reach the year 1598 we hear of a Corean potter, Rikei, who afterwards changed his name to Koraizayemon, settling here, and becoming famous for his chawan and other chanoyu utensils ; he and his immediate successors appear to have made a variety of other wares, if we may judge from the description of these early works which we find in the native records and from the identified examples in the catalogue. The earliest example is a koro in the form of a boat, dating from the sixteenth century, made of stoneware very NAGATO. 129 rudely modelled ; the decoration renders it very interesting, embodying as it does the leaves of the omodaka, an aquatic plant, from which the crest of the Prince of Hagi is derived ; it is executed in black, under the glaze, and the application and character of the latter are also noteworthy. Another specimen of ko-Hagi shows considerable proficiency both in potting and glazing. But the most interesting piece is a chojiburo of fine and close-grained pottery orna- mented, in the mishima style, with engraved designs filled in with white clay, which are executed with skill equal to that shown in the work of the same class produced by the Satsuma and Yatsushiro artists. About 1670, a Yamato potter, by name Miwa Kiusetsu, took up his residence at Hagi under the patronage of the prince, and improved the processes ; his works and those produced subsequently are known as Matsumoto Hagi. An example of the ware made at this time is shown in a tea-bowl, in which the Corean practice of notching the foot-rim, introduced by Rikei, is followed, and in much of the Matsumoto Hagi the influence of the Corean founders of the kiln may be traced. Another example of these later wares may be seen in a koro modelled in the form of Girogin, of light grey pottery glazed with various shades of brown ; this beautiful piece has been identified as an example of the figures which were made by order of the prince for presentation to his friends. Another factory has existed at Toyourayama since 1720, but it does not appear to have produced any wares other than glazed stoneware. One oi- THE Takara-Mono. The Kai. 130 AWAJI. One of i he Crests of ihe Prince of Kii, W HO ruled over the Island of Awaji. REVIOUS to the foundation of this kiln, in 1836, by Kashiu Mimpei, only ordinary wares for household use were made in the province, nothing of an artistic character being produced. The Stamp of Mimpei. Mimpei was a pupil of Ogata Shiuhei, an artist in the Gojozaka district of Kioto, and when he left that city he carried with him the methods of his master to Awaji. He found at Iganomura, where he established his kiln, clay of a very similar character to that used for Awata faience. He appears to have been a potter of considerable skill, and he was so successful in imitating the ancient wares of Cochin China, especially a description of fine buff pottery ornamented in relief with Chinese landscapes and numerous diaper patterns glazed with dull greens and yellows, that AW AJ I . I3I such wares, no matter when or where they were made, have come to be called Mimpei ware ; and it may be mentioned that this curious plan is not unusual in Japan, for when a potter becomes famous for a distinctive kind of ware it is customary when speaking of objects of that style to call them by his name ; for example, as we have already stated in the chapter upon Kioto wares, fine faience, decorated in the greens and blues which Ninsei used, are, if they have merit, called Ninsei ware, even though they are modern ; and the early imitations of Cochin China pottery go by the name of Mimpei ware, although they may have been made elsewhere than in Awaji, and even a century or two before that potter lived. Three examples of old ware are catalogued, and a fourth, apparently modern, which may have been made at the Awaji kiln. The works of Mimpei were of two kinds ; the first of a very hard buff faience, exceedingly fine and close in quality, and most carefully potted and fired ; it was in the form of saucers and small dishes, ornamented with Chinese subjects, faintly impressed, and covered with remarkably bright glaze, which is slightly crackled. An identified exam- ple of Mimpei’s work is catalogued, the glaze of which is of a dark orange colour, but we believe that this artist used yellow, and, perhaps, green glazes as well. His suc- cessors have followed his style in the potting and decoration, but have employed yellow, green, and variegated glazes, which, however, lack the brilliancy and beauty of colour found in Mimpei’s work. The second description of ware was a softer faience, much of the same character as that of Awata ; these objects also were carefully potted, but the glazes were dull and waxy, somewhat similiar to those employed in Satsuma and Kioto, and the styles of those schools were followed in the decoration, which was executed in colours and gold upon the slightly crackled glaze. Three examples are catalogued, one of them a hibachi made by Mimpei, which was subsequently decorated at Tokio, and a pair of 132 JAPANESE POTTERY. vases, probably made by his son Rikita or his nephew Sampei, who succeeded him ; the latter are fine examples of potting and the difficulties of their manufacture, which are referred to in the description of them in the catalogue, have been skilfully overcome. Large quantities of dishes and other vessels made in both the styles referred to are now made for export, but they do not possess the merit of the earlier productions. Taikobo. “ Seated upon the river bank he fished for half his life without a hook upon his line." 133 OMI. Crest of Prince Ii, of Hikone. NCI ENT records state that some subjects of Sinra, a Corean prince, came to this province in the opening years of the Christian era and commenced the manufacture of pottery, but nothing definite is found until the year 1300, when it is supposed the Shigaraki kiln was established at the town of Nagano and rude glazed pots for holding seeds and so forth were manufactured. Early in the sixteenth century articles for chanoyu were made, and many fanciful names are given to the wares then and subsequently produced. The earlier examples are called Jio-o Shigaraki after Takeno Jio-o, a tea drinker who admired them; towards the end of the century the distinguished chajiu, Rikiu, gave his name to the tea sets which are known as Rikin Shigaraki, and fifty years later another noted disciple of chanoyu, Senno Sotan, patronised the productions of this kiln, the wares of that period being named Sotan Shiga- raki. About the same time Kobori Masakazu, of Yenshiu, who influenced the Takatori and other wares, suggested 134 JAPANESE POTTERY. improvements in those of Shigaraki, and the objects pro- duced were styled Enshin Shigaraki. The clay of this district was in favour with the potters of Kioto, and several of them, notably Nonomura Ninsei, Honami Kuchiu, and Shiubei, made wares out of it which were known as Ninsei, Kuchiu, and Shiubei Shigaraki, respectively. When we come to examine the objects which have been so carefully designated during the past three centuries, of which some authentic examples are preserved in the Collection, we find nothing but rude bowls or water-jugs used in the chanoyu ceremony ; they are of coarse pottery, covered with brown, grey, and green glazes, and splashed here and there with white or buff enamels, but in no sense entitled to favourable notice as examples of the potter’s art, in fact, they are nothing more than com.mon earthen- ware vessels glazed in a somewhat eccentric manner. Another kiln in this province was established during the first half of the seventeenth century at Zeze by Ishikawa Tadafusa, a noble of Zeze, who directed a potter in his service to follow the designs of Kobori Masakazu in fashion- ing the vessels he made. They appear to have comprised only chaire of brown stoneware glazed, which, however, are highly appreciated in Japan, although to western connois- seurs they exhibit no point of difference from objects of the same kind made in a dozen other places. Two specimens are catalogued, which are described by native experts as “very choice’’ and “very curious,” and an estimate of the feeling of the chajin may be formed by an examination of these examples. This factory is now extinct. At Koto there was a small kiln which is also now extinct. It was founded by the Prince of Omi, but the date is not given in the native records ; it was, however, probably about the close of the last century or early in the present one, for the examples of its productions which we have seen show a distinct advance upon the works OMI. 135 of the neighbouring factories already referred to ; some of the pieces are of porcelain, decorated in the sometsuke style and also in various colours, and an interesting figure of Hotei in faience, very successfully glazed with coloured enamels, is catalogued. One of the Seven gods of Fortune. Hotei. s 136 BUZEN. Crest of the Prince of Ogasawara, of Buzen. FACTORY was established here in the open- ing years of the seventeenth century by Hosokawa Tadaoki, a daimio to whom lands were granted in this province ; he brought with him a Corean potter named Sonkai, and opened a kiln at Agano ; this potter, who changed his name to Agano Kizo, made chaive, which went by the name of Agano yaki, for his patron, and when the latter was transferred to the province of Higo, Kizo accompanied him and opened a kiln at Yatsushiro. One of the Takara-Mono. The Kanebukuro. 137 MINO. Crest of Prince Toda, of Mino. HE province of Mino is adjacent to that of Owari and, like it, is the seat of important manufactories of porcelain. In the sixteenth century objects of earthenware were made there for the Imperial Court, and probably this industry was continued until more recent times, but the manufacture of porce- lain was not commenced until i8io, when it was introduced from Owari by some mem- bers of the Kato family, who settled at the village of Ichinokura, where their descend- ants still pursue the trade ; numerous factories also exist at Tajimi and other towns in the province. Amongst the most extensive makers are Kato Gosuke, Kato Mosuke, Kato Kohei, Kato Heizaimon, and Kumagai Yakichi, all of whom make wares for export. The staple product is plain eggshell porcelain, chielly in the form of sake cups, which are sent first to Tokio for decoration, and afterwards to the province of Suruga, where they are covered with basket work of finely split bamboo ; these small cups, sometimes with floating tortoises in them, or ornamented with portraits ot male and female historical characters, or with landscapes, chiefly views of the 138 JAPANESE POTTERY. famous places in the neighbourhood of Tokio, painted in weak-toned colours, or in ultramarine blues in a very rude and sketchy manner, are perhaps the lowest priced of any of the wares shipped from Japan, and may now be seen in almost every town in foreign countries. Occasionally some- what larger objects are made, in the shape of flower vases, sake bottles, and so forth, which are decorated with blue under or over the glaze, and sometimes with lacquer, but none of the objects approaches in size or in merit those produced in Owari. Masashige Kusunoki. “The Mirror of Stainless Loyalty.’ '39 IDZUMI. Crest of Prince Okabe, of Idzumi. HIS province is rendered interesting by the tradition that it is the birthplace of Gioki, who is said to have introduced the potter’s wheel from China in the eighth century. However this may be, nothing more in con- nection with the industry is recorded until we reach the close of the sixteenth century, when the factory of Sakai was established at the town of Minato, where the wares known by that name have since been made. During the earlier years of the kiln, the productions consisted probably of the usual utensils for chanoyu, and it is said that the factory came into note by making ash trays which struck the fancy of the chajin, but it is probable that the artistic faience which is known as Minato ware was not made until the beginning of the present century. The objects which have come under our notice are all of a porous faience, covered with dull glazes, yellow and green, much after the style of the Cochin China wares, and sometimes blue, white and gold are introduced. T 140 CHIKUGO. Crest of the Prince Arima, of Chikugo. EJECTS for chanoyu have been made at Yanagawa in this province since the close of the sixteenth century ; they are of a soft light-coloured clay, somewhat similar to that employed in Minato ware ; the potters here were also known for their skill in making horoku, a pan in which tea is dried, and for ornamental tiles which were presented to Toku- gawa Shogun. Ordinary wares are still made. One of jhe 'J'akaka-Mono. The Iama. IGA. Crest of Prince Todo, of Tsu. OARSE wares, similar to those made at the Shigaraki kiln in the adjoining province of Omi, have been made at the Uyeno factory for centuries, but nothing appears to have been produced except the commonest objects for domestic use or for the tea ceremonies, although some of the wares have been dignified by names associating them with noted chajin, or the daimio of the district, such as Yenshiu Iga and Todo Iga. One of the Takara-Mono. The Koban-ni-Hako. 142 HARIMA. Crest of Prince Sakai, of Harima. ATIVE records state that the industry of potting was for the first time practised in this province at the town of Himeji, in the period of Tempo, 1830 to 1843, but this is incorrect, for we have two identified examples, one of porcelain with sonietsuke decoration, dating from the first half of the seventeenth century, and the other a dish of glazed pottery, made at the village of Miako in the opening years of the present century. Probably the art of making porcelain was revived at Himeji at the time stated, and objects made in imitation of Hizen ware were produced which are known as Tozan ware, after the hill from which the material was drawn. In the earlier part of this century, however, some Kioto potters, amongst them a member of the clever Dohachi family, instructed the local potters, who are said to have produced some wares of merit. At the present day, nothing but common articles for local use are made. 143 TAM BA. Crest of Prince Aoyama, of Tamba. T is said that pottery was made in this province as early as the fifth century but we find nothing in the records referring to the matter until the sixteenth century when stoneware vessels, now known as Ko-Tambn, were made. Chanoyn utensils, especially the water jars, were made during the seventeenth century, but the examples catalogued serve only to show how rude the objects were which fascinated the minds of the chajin. In the present day nothing but common wares are pro- duced. One of the Takara-Mono. The Kakuremino. T 144 TOTOMI. Crest of Prince Inouye, of Totomi. FACTORY was established at Shitoro in this province, for the manufacture of tea utensils, in the sixteenth century, and at a subsequent period that ubiquitous chajin^ Kobori Masakazu, referred to in the remarks about the Shigaraki and other kilns, in- fluenced the style of the wares which were made. The result was the usual coarse pottery or stoneware vessels, glazed or par- tially glazed, which were so abundantly pro- duced during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries throughout the country ; those made at Shitoro appear to have been particularly inartistic and rough, both as regards potting and glaze. One of the Takara-Mono. The Kagi. 145 TSUSHIMA. The Crest of Prince So, of Tsushima. HE introduction of the industry into this island appears to have been of recent date, for nothing is heard of it until the period of Bunkwa, 1804 to 1817. A kiln was established at the village of Shiga, where faience after the Corean fashion, and porce- lain decorated chiefly with blue, were made, and we believe the industry is still carried on there. One of the Takara-Mono. The Makimono. 146 SETSU. The Crest of Prince Kuki, of Setsu. HIS province is rendered interesting by its having been the principal seat of the manu- facture of Seiji yaki, or celadon ware, in Japan. In 1690, Prince Kuki established a factory at Sanda for the purpose of making this ware. His artists were very successful and although they did not attain to the excel- lence of the best Chinese models, they pro- duced works of considerable merit, as may be seen by an inspection of the group cata- logued. The clay employed is light hrown in colour, hard, and of a close fine texture, and the objects, nearly always of small size, consist of statuettes, flower vases, perfume burners, bowls, and so forth ; they are often ornamented with designs in relief, over which the celadon glaze is applied. The earlier specimens are particularly satisfactory in manipulation and glazing but for a considerable time past there has been a decadence in these respects, and now only poor wares are produced. At Osaka and Hiogo, also in this province, common pottery for the use of the people has been made which SETSU. 147 merits no particular notice. Osaka, the commercial capital of Japan, has, however, long been known for its dealers in pottery of all kinds, and at Kobe, the foreign settlement in the vicinity of Hiogo, an extensive industry is now carried on in the decoration of faience made in Kioto, and elsewhere, for export. It is these wares, crowded with figures of saints resplendent in colours and gold, which are now so largely sent abroad. One of the principal shops is that of Mr. Ikeda, to whom the Collector is indebted for the flower vases described in the catalogue, which are good representa- tions of the wares referred to. The Patriarch Daruma. 148 TOSA. The Crest of Prince Yamanouchi, of Tosa. HOHAKU, a pupil of Ninsei, the Kioto artist, is said to have opened a kiln in this province during the second half of the seven- teenth century, and a coarse faience, covered with opaque white glaze ornamented with designs in black, known as Odo ware, was made. We have not seen any examples of the early ware, but a specimen answering to the above description, dating from the period of Bunkwa, 1804 to 1817, is catalogued, and it serves to show that no great proficiency had been attained during the time the kiln had been in existence. It is now extinct. One of the Takara-Mono. The Uchivva. 149 IWASHIRO. Cresi' of Prince Matsudaira, of Ainzu. N this province there is little found of interest in connection with our subject. Beyond the ordinary pottery made for two centuries past for the daily use of the people, we find only a common porcelain, decorated sometsuke fashion, made at Waka- matsu, known as Aidzu ware, that being the name of the castle of the daimio. The earlier pieces are the most satisfactory, and may be distinguished from the modern by the use of russet-brown in conjunction with kiln was opened in 1868. One of the Takara-Mono. The Tsuchi. IDZUMO. Crest of Prince Matsudaira, of Idzumo. T was to this province that Nomi-no- Sukune sent for members of the clay-workers’ tribe, as related in Chapter II, that they might make images of clay to bury around the tombs of the dead chieftains. The principal factory in modern times has been situated at the town of Madsuye ; it was established in the middle of the seventeenth century in the district of Giozan, by a Nagato potter who, bringing his clay and materials for glazes from Hagi, made tea cups, bowls, dishes, and so forth, for chanoyu. They were known as Giozan wares, and two cliaire are catalogued which show that they differed in no important respect from such objects produced elsewhere at the same time. The manufactures which are now chiefly associated with the province are those known as Fujina ware, a buff faience of a close grained quality, very similar to that made in Awadji, and, like that, potted with extreme care ; IDZUMO. I5I it is noticeable for the glazes which are used; they are singu- larly transparent and brilliant, having a highly satisfactory effect upon the delicate yellow faience, and the crackled surfaces afford an admirable ground for the customary decoration, generally of insects, butterflies, and so forth, in various colours. The painting, however, is generally of a poor order, and the enamel colours used are weak and by no means satisfactory. Occasionally chocolate or green glazes are used without the addition of any decora- tion, and the skill with which these brilliant glazes are applied produces a good effect. All these wares have been made during the present century. u 152 suwo. UR information about the industry as practised in this province is most meagre, and it is improbable that it was pursued to any extent beyond the making of common wares for daily use or for the chanoyu ceremonial. It is, however, celebrated for its Tada yaki^ one of the rarest and most beautiful of keramic wares of the country, of which the kindness of a Japanese friend, a native of this province, enables me to catalogue a specimen which had been an heirloom in his family for generations ; it is a dish of buff pottery of very fine texture, covered with an opaque grey glaze, which is crackled in an altogether perfect manner. o One of the Takara-Mono. The Kotsubo. 153 SURUGA. Crest of Prince Midsuno, of Suruga. HIS province, known chiefly as the place where the coverings of finely-split bamboo are applied to the small cups of Mino porcelain which have been decorated in Tokio, is rendered more interesting by its association with the Tokugawa Shogun. Shiduoka, a town on the Tokaido, the great highway of the empire, was chosen by lyeyasu as his retreat when he delegated to his son the duty of carrying on the government at Tokio, and here his succes- sors have, until recent times, retired from the busy city for rest and repose, no doubt accompanied by the artists and the scholars who surrounded them at their court. lyenori, the Shogun who ruled from 1787 to 1837, a well known patron of the arts, invited to his retreat the most renowned potters of his day to make wares for him, which they or some other of his artists would decorate. Three examples of these interesting works are catalogued ; one a chawan of faience, most delicate in texture, potting, and crackle, upon which the artist has not ventured to place his seal, satisfied, no doubt, with the 154 JAPANESE POTTERY. honour of making such an object for the Shogun ; the other pieces, of lesser beauty, bear the stamp of Kinkozan, the Kioto potter. They are all decorated, in gold and colours, with the crest of the Shogun and some simple floral patterns. It may be mentioned that Keiki, the last of the Shogun, retired to Shiduoka when he was removed from his office in 1868. Take. — The Bamboo. 155 IWAKI. Crest of the Prince of Nakamura, of Mutsu. FACTORY has existed at Nakamura, in this province, since 1650. The ware produced at this kiln is of a sandy brown or grey clay roughly fashioned, in nearly all cases by hand, and covered with a greenish and grey speckled glaze. It is known as Soma ware, the name being derived from Soma Yoshi- tane, the lord or prince of Nakamura, who is said to have requested Naonobu, a famous Kano artist, to draw one of his crests, a galloping horse, as a decoration for the chawan and other objects produced at his factory. This ware is of little interest, except as an illus- tration of the rude pottery which, by its association with the tradition referred to, has commended itself to the fancy of the chajin, for it is devoid of beauty in material, form, and decoration alike. YAMATO. Crest of the Prince of Koriyama, of Yamato. HE native records give little information concerning the industry as practised in this province, which is associated with the earli- est history of Japan, for it was the battle field on which Jimmu vanquished those who occupied the land before he came. Passing by the ancient traditions which state that it was here that Nomi-no- Sukune made the clay figures previously referred to, we find that Nonomura Ninsei opened a kiln known as Akahada, at Koriyama, where some coarse wares were produced. The kiln was afterwards closed and not re-opened until i8oi, when Yanagizawa Giozan, the daiinio of Koriyama, revived the industry. The clay employed is light yellow, of a friable nature, and is covered with opaque glaze which is very minutely crackled ; upon this surface landscapes, much after the style of Yedo Banko ware, and also floral com- positions are painted, generally in rather weak colours, the only pronounced one being a bright red which is a charac- teristic of the ware. These pieces are generally stamped with the name of the factory, Akahada yama. YAMATO. 157 Akahada yama. Another kiln, situate at Kaseyama, near to Nara, the ancient capital of the Mikado, made wares in imitation of those produced in Hizen, but nothing definite is known about its work, and it is now extinct. A Court Marshal and his Servant. Tweleth Century. 158 HIGO. Crest of the Prince of Higo. LTHOUGH pottery has been made in this province for centuries the industry did not assume any importance until the close of the sixteenth century, when Kato Kiyomasa returned from the campaign in Corea, bringing with him a potter named Sonkai, who commenced the manufacture of chawan much after the style of the Seto-kusuri ware of Satsuma. Sonkai assumed the name of Agano Kizo and, subsequently, a kiln was established at Shirno Toyohara for the manufacture of more artistic pottery. This took the form, almost exclusively, of the ware known as Yatsushiro, which has come to be one of the most prized of the keramic productions of Japan. The clay employed is an extremely dense faience, or semi- porcelain, of very fine texture which is coated with a thin film of grey clay by immersion in slip ; upon this beautifully tinted grey surface delicate diaper and other designs are engraved, the spaces being filled in with white clay after the mishima style, and the whole is finally covered with a. thin HIGO. 159 and finely crackled varnish. Several early examples of great beauty are included in the catalogue, some of which have been decorated since they left the Shirno Toyohara kiln with colours and gold, the outlines of the original designs being followed by the painter. This custom of subsequently painting the early examples of mishima ware is not uncommon in Japan but, although the added decoration is often beautiful, and sometimes appropriate, it seldom harmonizes with the refined and severe taste of the original work. During the last century okimono of various forms were made of similar clay to that used in the Yatsushiro ware but without the inlaid decoration, their surfaces being covered with brown and grey glazes fired at a very high temperature after the manner of the Takatori factory. The Shirno Toyohara kiln still makes pottery of the same character, but so far as we have seen, it is much inferior to the older work. A Shojo. i6o KIl. FACTORY was established at the town of Wakayama during the seventeenth century, but nothing is known about the wares pro- duced there until the real work of the kiln commenced in the period of Tempo, 1830- 1843, when Nariyuki, the Prince of Kii, invited a member of the Yeiraku family of Kioto to come and superintend the factory. He appears to have imitated the glazed porcelains of China, using as a base the fine and hard faience made of the clay found in Kii ; the results were not very satisfactory, the glazes, chiefly purple, yellow and blue, altogether lacking the brilliancy of those produced by the Chinese potters upon a porcelain base and fired at a much higher temperature than the faience of Yeiraku permitted ; a typical example of this potter’s work is shown in a dish marked with the stamp Sanrakiiyen. The glazed wares referred to above, KII. i6i Sanrakuyen seisu. Made by Sanrakuyen. and others splashed with grey and brown, are now being made in immense quantities, chiefly in the shape of bottles and small vases, for export, and from the specimens included in the catalogue it will be seen that the glazes now employed are of brighter and more garish hues than those used by Yeiraku. A work in faience, made in imitation of Delft, and decorated in blue after the style of the Dutch work which is also catalogued, is interesting as an example of Japanese copyism from an European copy of Chinese decoration. The most beautiful of all the wares made in this province are those of the Otokoyama kiln, which is now extinct. We are without any definite information as to the time when it was founded, but we know that its artists were under the patronage of the prince of the province, and an example has come to us of their work in a vase of remarkable beauty, both as regards the potting and glazing ; it bears the stamp of the artist, Zuisido, but we Nanki, Zuisido seisu. Made by Zuisido, Nanki, The latter being another name for the Province of Kii. are without information as to the date of its manufacture. It is of light grey pottery of extremely fine quality and hard texture ; the surface is modelled in the most masterly i 62 JAPANESE POTTERY. manner with leaves and flowers of botan, in relief, and the whole is covered with celadon glaze of the highest possible beauty, not inferior to the best Chinese works of this description. Tsuru — The Crane. V 1% - 00 2 pJi , I 2 ^ ^h(\ 2^ 6o! ^t= IlJ/ b^^1eJC^&