CHAPTER XXXKISHU PORCELAIN AND POTTERY, ETC.
Both porcelain and pottery were made at Wakayama, and are known as Kishu ware. The ornamentation consisted of formal patterns in low relief, the intervening spaces being filled with coloured glazes, chiefly blue, deep purple, and yellow, though green and white were not unfrequently used. Perhaps the most common was a ground of purple, with the scroll-work in relief and some parts of it covered with turquoise-blue. Some very fine pieces had a rich green glaze marbled with purple with medallions in other colours. These glazes are amongst the finest produced in Japan.
The paste varied from porcelain to stoneware, and, like many factories, was sometimes white, sometimes a red grey. It was fine in texture, and hard.
Yeiraku's work was largely done in this private kiln, and many of the pieces bear his stamp. It is said that he made from five to ten specimens of any object he undertook to produce, that the best was chosen and the rest destroyed.
As early as 1680 a factory was established at a village near Tokio, and produced articles whichresembled some of the Kutani wares, but towards the end of the eighteenth century a rich amateur, Gozayemon, who had previously acquired a great reputation as a copyist, was induced by the then Shogun to leave Isé and to continue his work in Tokio, where his productions became the fashion, partly because of their merits, partly owing to the difficulty experienced in securing them.
He now adopted the purely Japanese style, and combined with it the beauty of the Chinese glazes in different colours, and it was when he ceased to be an imitator and became an originator that he became an artist. He imitated every kind of ware, from coarse Korean pottery and the brilliant colours of China to the severe styles of Ninsei and Kenzam. His pieces were generally marked. He also made many imitations of Dutch delft.
After his death, the son of a dealer of Isé, into whose hands the formula of Gozayemoné had fallen, assumed the name of Banko, after having bought the stamp from his grandson. He made a peculiar kind of stoneware, unglazed, in which the mould, made up of several sections, was placed inside the clay to be modelled. Hence, on the outside, the lines of the skin of the hand are shown, and the designs are as sharp, if not sharper, inside as outside the pottery, which from this method of working had to be very thin. He also decorated pieces with storks, dragons, &c., in relief and other pieces, with clever designs in coloured slips on a green or deep brown ground. This Isé Banko ware is nearly always stamped.
This is a most peculiar ware, which consisted chiefly of small teacups or bowls, having a rough indentedsurface on the outside, but remarkably smooth to the lips, with a horse in relief or painted, sometimes tied to a stake. The name of the ware and the badge were derived from the Prince of the territory. The ceremony of tea-drinking amongst the Japanese was almost a cult. The rites were followed under the direction of a Tchadjin, or master of the ceremonies, and, amongst other usages, the shape and decoration of the cups varied with the season. Some were made by hand instead of by the aid of a wheel, and most of the factories tried to satisfy the native connoisseur.
In 1690 a kiln was erected by the Prince of the province of Setsu to imitate Chinese Celadon. At first pottery was made, but towards the end of the eighteenth century porcelain methods were brought from Arita with such successful results that the excellent sea-green Celadon of Sanda attained great celebrity, in some degree owing to the considerable quantity of it which was made. In colour Sanda Celadon is bright green, less warm than that of China and less delicate than the Nabeshima ware.
The eggshell porcelain of Japan is not ancient, but near Tokio a factory produces saki cups which are exceedingly pretty, being elegant in shape and decoration and having a thin delicate paste. Sometimes they are covered outside with basket-work, very finely woven.
At Seto, in Owari province, both porcelain and pottery were made; the former was an importation fromArita, which has now become so important that porcelain in Japan is known as Seto-mono or Seto ware. Here, too, was made a kind of stoneware much esteemed by the tea clubs.
At Inuyama, also in Owari, imitations of Chinese porcelain were made, and called Agaye. Many kilns are still at work here.
At Karatsu, in Hizen, was an ancient factory, now closed, which had a great reputation for the manufacture of the utensils required by the tea clubs.
At Nagano-mura, a pottery produced ware with a streaky glaze, but not painted. Close by, Iga made a singularly rough ware.
At Sobara-mura, Takatori ware, chiefly vases to hold incense, of a rich brown glazed stoneware, was manufactured. Many makers in various kilns made the bowls for drinking tea, which was the finest green tea, ground to powder, frothed up with a brush, and passed in a bowl from hand to hand. Raku ware, so called from the inscribed mark Raku (happiness), consisted chiefly of tea-bowls.
Nothing need be said of the modern Japanese potters. The greater part of the modern imports is too bad for words, and none need be wasted on it. Yet, amidst much that is thoroughly bad, there are still some master potters in Kyoto, Tokio, Yokohama, Seyfou, and elsewhere, whose work is well worth buying.
It will be well to remember that old Japanese has two classes, one with a white, semi-transparent paste with very simple designs—a plum-tree and two quails, the tortoise with the hairy tail, the phœnix, a few storks, or more rarely a Japanese lady in full dress. The colours used were red, a pale but bright blue, an apple-green, and an unusual lilac often with the butterfly mark. Dresden, Chelsea, St. Cloud, and other works imitated this class.
The second class, also imitated in Europe, as at Derby, for example, had the chrysanthemum and peony decoration; the ornaments are in compartments or panels, enclosing mythical animals. Specimens before me are decorated with a deep blue and gold. The other colours chiefly used are a deep red and a bright black and green. The kiri or kiku flower, with seventeen blossoms and three leaves, is frequently used. It is the Imperial badge. The covers of the vases and jars have figures in Japanese dress or Korean lions on the top. Most of the beautifully decorated specimens were made for export, the Japanese value the rough, artistic, but characteristic work.
(1) Kutani, or Kaga, often with other marks. This is the Prince's mark.(2-5) Kutani ware; red, blue, and gold.(6-7) Kutani porcelain, usually very fine.(8) "Made at Kutani in Great Japan."(9) Ohi Ware Kaga.(10) Ohi ware, Kaga.(11) "Happiness," Kaga. The open window mark.(12-13) Kenzan, inscribed marks.(14) Kenzan, stamped, letters sunk.(15) Kenzan painted in brown.(16-18) Yeiraku. The Nagano-mura is an offshoot in Awaji, same mark.(19) "Made by Yeiraku in Great Japan."
(1) Kutani, or Kaga, often with other marks. This is the Prince's mark.
(2-5) Kutani ware; red, blue, and gold.
(6-7) Kutani porcelain, usually very fine.
(8) "Made at Kutani in Great Japan."
(9) Ohi Ware Kaga.
(10) Ohi ware, Kaga.
(11) "Happiness," Kaga. The open window mark.
(12-13) Kenzan, inscribed marks.
(14) Kenzan, stamped, letters sunk.
(15) Kenzan painted in brown.
(16-18) Yeiraku. The Nagano-mura is an offshoot in Awaji, same mark.
(19) "Made by Yeiraku in Great Japan."
(20-21) Kishu. Both marks stamped in the paste.(22) Banko. Two stamped marks. On thin teapots, greyish brown ware.(23) Banko. Two stamped marks.(24) Nishina, a family name.(25, 26, 27) Soma. Stamped in oblong or oval panel, the oval being the older. On the outside of some pieces with these marks the crest of the Prince of Soma (A) is found with a prancing horse tied between two stakes.
(20-21) Kishu. Both marks stamped in the paste.
(22) Banko. Two stamped marks. On thin teapots, greyish brown ware.
(23) Banko. Two stamped marks.
(24) Nishina, a family name.
(25, 26, 27) Soma. Stamped in oblong or oval panel, the oval being the older. On the outside of some pieces with these marks the crest of the Prince of Soma (A) is found with a prancing horse tied between two stakes.
This is a common form of marking Chinese porcelain and Chinese symbolical ornaments, and were often copied. The five examples given (B to F) are frequently found on Japanese porcelain:
(B) A swastika, Buddhist symbol, also a family crest.(C) A flower with five leaves, in red.(D and E) Two varieties of a plant.(F) A leaf, in blue outlined in gold.
(B) A swastika, Buddhist symbol, also a family crest.
(C) A flower with five leaves, in red.
(D and E) Two varieties of a plant.
(F) A leaf, in blue outlined in gold.