Part 30

Among the seven ceramists here enumerated, Seifu of Kioto probably enjoys the highest reputation. If we except the ware of Satsuma, it may be said that nearly all the fine faience of Japan was manufactured formerly in Kioto. Nomura Ninsei, in the middle of the 17th century, inaugurated a long era of beautiful productions with his cream-like "fish-roe" _craquelé_ glazes, carrying rich decoration of clear and brilliant vitrifiable enamels. It was he who gave their first really artistic impulse to the kilns of Awata, Mizoro and Iwakura, whence so many delightful specimens of faience issued almost without interruption until the middle of the 19th century and continue to issue to-day. The three Kenzan, of whom the third died in 1820; Ebisei; the four Dohachi, of whom the fourth was still alive in 1909; the Kagiya family, manufacturers of the celebrated Kinkozan ware; Hozan, whose imitations of Delft faience and his _pâte-sur-pâte_ pieces with fern-scroll decoration remain incomparable; Taizan Yohei, whose ninth descendant of the same name now produces fine specimens of Awata ware for foreign markets; Tanzan Yoshitaro and his son Rokuro, to whose credit stands a new departure in the form of faience having _pâte-sur-pâte_ decoration of lace patterns, diapers and archaic designs executed in low relief with admirable skill and minuteness; the two Bizan, renowned for their representations of richly apparelled figures as decorative motives; Rokubei, who studied painting under Maruyama Okyo and followed the naturalistic style of that great artist; Mokubei, the first really expert manufacturer of translucid porcelain in Kioto; Shuhei, Kintei, and above all, Zengoro Hozen, the celebrated potter of Eiraku wares--these names and many others give to Kioto ceramics an eminence as well as an individuality which few other wares of Japan can boast. Nor is it to be supposed that the ancient capital now lacks great potters. Okamura Yasutaro, commonly called Shozan, produces specimens which only a very acute connoisseur can distinguish from the work of Nomura Ninsei; Tanzan Rokuro's half-tint enamels and soft creamy glazes would have stood high in any epoch; Taizan Yohei produces Awata faience not inferior to that of former days; Kagiya Sobei worthily supports the reputation of the Kinkozan ware; Kawamoto Eijiro has made to the order of a well-known Kioto firm many specimens now figuring in foreign collections as old masterpieces; and Ito Tozan succeeds in decorating faience with seven colours _sous couverte_ (black, green, blue, russet-red, tea-brown, purple and peach), a feat never before accomplished. It is therefore an error to assert that Kioto has no longer a title to be called a great ceramic centre. Seifu Yohei, however, has the special faculty of manufacturing monochromatic and jewelled porcelain and faience, which differ essentially from the traditional Kioto types, their models being taken directly from China. But a sharp distinction has to be drawn between the method of Seifu and that of the other six ceramists mentioned above as following Chinese fashions. It is this, that whereas the latter produce their chromatic effects by mixing the colouring matter with the glaze, Seifu paints the biscuit with a pigment over which he runs a translucid colourless glaze. The Kioto artist's process is much easier than that of his rivals, and although his monochromes are often of most pleasing delicacy and fine tone, they do not belong to the same category of technical excellence as the wares they imitate. From this judgment must be excepted, however, his ivory-white and _céladon_ wares, as well as his porcelains decorated with blue, or blue and red _sous couverte_, and with vitrifiable enamels over the glaze. In these five varieties he is emphatically great. It cannot be said, indeed, that his _céladon_ shows the velvety richness of surface and tenderness of colour that distinguished the old _Kuang-yao_ and _Lungchuan-yao_ of China, or that he has ever essayed the moss-edged crackle of the beautiful _Ko-yao_. But his _céladon_ certainly equals the more modern Chinese examples from the _Kang-hsi_ and _Yung-cheng_ kilns. As for his ivory-white, it distinctly surpasses the Chinese Ming _Chen-yao_ in every quality except an indescribable intimacy of glaze and _pâte_ which probably can never be obtained by either Japanese or European methods.

Miyagawa Shozan.

Miyagawa Shozan, or Makuzu, as he is generally called, has never followed Seifu's example in descending from the difficult manipulation of coloured glazes to the comparatively simple process of painted biscuit. This comment does not refer to the use of blue and red _sous couverte_. In that class of beautiful ware the application of pigment to the unglazed _pâte_ is inevitable, and both Seifu and Miyagawa, working on the same lines as their Chinese predecessors, produce porcelains that almost rank with choice Kang-hsi specimens, though they have not yet mastered the processes sufficiently to employ them in the manufacture of large imposing pieces or wares of moderate price. But in the matter of true monochromatic and polychromatic glazes, to Shozan belongs the credit of having inaugurated Chinese fashions, and if he has never fully succeeded in achieving _lang-yao_ (sang-de-boeuf), _chi-hung_ (liquid-dawn red), _chiang-tou-hung_ (bean-blossom red, the "peach-blow" of American collectors), or above all _pin-kwo-tsing_ (apple-green with red bloom), his efforts to imitate them have resulted in some very interesting pieces.

Tokyo Ceramists.

Takemoto and Kato of Tokyo entered the field subsequently to Shozan, but followed the same models approximately. Takemoto, however, has made a speciality of black glazes, his aim being to rival the _Sung Chien-yao_, with its glaze of mirror-black or raven's-wing green, and its leveret fur streaking or russet-moss dappling, the prince of all wares in the estimation of the Japanese tea-clubs. Like Shozan, he is still very far from his original, but, also like Shozan, he produces highly meritorious pieces in his efforts to reach an ideal that will probably continue to elude him for ever. Of Kato there is not much to be said. He has not succeeded in winning great distinction, but he manufactures some very delicate monochromes, fully deserving to be classed among prominent evidences of the new departure. Tokyo was never a centre of ceramic production. Even during the 300 years of its conspicuous prosperity as the administrative capital of the Tokugawa shoguns, it had no noted factories, doubtless owing to the absence of any suitable potter's clay in the immediate vicinity. Its only notable production of a ceramic character was the work of Miura Kenya (1830-1843), who followed the methods of the celebrated Haritsu (1688-1704) of Kioto in decorating plain or lacquered wood with mosaics of raku faience having coloured glazes. Kenya was also a skilled modeller of figures, and his factory in the Imado suburb obtained a considerable reputation for work of that nature. He was succeeded by Tozawa Benshi, an old man of over seventy in 1909, who, using clay from Owari or Hizen, has turned out many porcelain statuettes of great beauty. But although the capital of Japan formerly played only an insignificant part in Japanese ceramics, modern Tokyo has an important school of artist-artisans. Every year large quantities of porcelain and faience are sent from the provinces to the capital to receive surface decoration, and in wealth of design as well as carefulness of execution the results are praiseworthy. But of the pigments employed nothing very laudatory could be said until very recent times. They were generally crude, of impure tone, and without depth or brilliancy. Now, however, they have lost these defects and entered a period of considerable excellence. Figure-subjects constitute the chief feature of the designs. A majority of the artists are content to copy old pictures of Buddha's sixteen disciples, the seven gods of happiness, and other similar assemblages of mythical or historical personages, not only because such work offers large opportunity for the use of striking colours and the production of meretricious effects, dear to the eye of the average Western householder and tourist, but also because a complicated design, as compared with a simple one, has the advantage of hiding the technical imperfections of the ware. Of late there have happily appeared some decorators who prefer to choose their subjects from the natural field in which their great predecessors excelled, and there is reason to hope that this more congenial and more pleasing style will supplant its modern usurper. The best known factory in Tokyo for decorative purposes is the Hyochi-en. It was established in the Fukagawa suburb in 1875, with the immediate object of preparing specimens for the first Tokyo exhibition held at that time. Its founders obtained a measure of official aid, and were able to secure the services of some good artists, among whom may be mentioned Obanawa and Shimauchi. The porcelains of Owari and Arita naturally received most attention at the hands of the Hyochi-en decorators, but there was scarcely one of the principal wares of Japan upon which they did not try their skill, and if a piece of monochromatic Minton or Sèvres came in their way, they undertook to improve it by the addition of designs copied from old masters or suggested by modern taste. The cachet of the Fukagawa atelier was indiscriminately applied to all such pieces, and has probably proved a source of confusion to collectors. Many other factories for decoration were established from time to time in Tokyo. Of these some still exist; others, ceasing to be profitable, have been abandoned. On the whole, the industry may now be said to have assumed a domestic character. In a house, presenting no distinctive features whatsoever, one finds the decorator with a cupboard full of bowls and vases of glazed biscuit, which he adorns, piece by piece, using the simplest conceivable apparatus and a meagre supply of pigments. Sometimes he fixes the decoration himself, employing for that purpose a small kiln which stands in his back garden; sometimes he entrusts this part of the work to a factory. As in the case of everything Japanese, there is no pretence, no useless expenditure about the process. Yet it is plain that this school of Tokyo decorators, though often choosing their subjects badly, have contributed much to the progress of the ceramic art during the past few years. Little by little there has been developed a degree of skill which compares not unfavourably with the work of the old masters. Table services of Owari porcelain--the ware itself excellently manipulated and of almost egg-shell fineness--are now decorated with floral scrolls, landscapes, insects, birds, figure-subjects and all sorts of designs, chaste, elaborate or quaint; and these services, representing so much artistic labour and originality, are sold for prices that bear no due ratio to the skill required in their manufacture.

There is only one reservation to be made in speaking of the modern decorative industry of Japan under its better aspects. In Tokyo, Kioto, Yokohama and Kobe--in all of which places decorating ateliers (_etsuke-dokoro_), similar to those of Tokyo, have been established in modern times--the artists use chiefly pigments, seldom venturing to employ vitrifiable enamels. That the results achieved with these different materials are not comparable is a fact which every connoisseur must admit. The glossy surface of a porcelain glaze is ill fitted for rendering artistic effects with ordinary colours. The proper field for the application of these is the biscuit, in which position the covering glaze serves at once to soften and to preserve the pigment. It can scarcely be doubted that the true instincts of the ceramist will ultimately counsel him to confine his decoration over the glaze to vitrifiable enamels, with which the Chinese and Japanese potters of former times obtained such brilliant results. But to employ enamels successfully is an achievement demanding special training and materials not easy to procure or to prepare. The Tokyo decorators are not likely, therefore, to change their present methods immediately.

An impetus was given to ceramic decoration by the efforts of a new school, which owed its origin to Dr G. Wagener, an eminent German expert formerly in the service of the Japanese government. Dr Wagener conceived the idea of developing the art of decoration under the glaze, as applied to faience. Faience thus decorated has always been exceptional in Japan. Rare specimens were produced in Satsuma and Kioto, the colour employed being chiefly blue, though brown and black were used in very exceptional instances. The difficulty of obtaining clear, rich tints was nearly prohibitive, and though success, when achieved, seemed to justify the effort, this class of ware never received much attention in Japan. By careful selection and preparation of _pâte_, glaze and pigments, Dr Wagener proved not only that the manufacture was reasonably feasible, but also that decoration thus applied to pottery possesses unique delicacy and softness. Ware manufactured by his direction at the Tokyo school of technique (_shokkô gakkô_), under the name of _asahi-yaki_, ranks among the interesting productions of modern Japan. The decorative colour chiefly employed is chocolate brown, which harmonizes excellently with the glaze. But the ware has never found favour in Japanese eyes, an element of unpleasant garishness being imparted to it by the vitreous appearance of the glaze, which is manufactured according to European methods. The modern faience of Ito Tozan of Kioto, decorated with colour under the glaze, is incomparably more artistic than the Tokyo _asahi-yaki_, from which, nevertheless, the Kioto master doubtless borrowed some ideas. The decorative industry in Tokyo owed much also to the kosho-kaisha, an institution started by Wakai and Matsuo in 1873, with official assistance. Owing to the intelligent patronage of this company, and the impetus given to the ceramic trade by its enterprise, the style of the Tokyo _etsuke_ was much improved and the field of their industry extended. It must be acknowledged, however, that the Tokyo artists often devote their skill to purposes of forgery, and that their imitations, especially of old Satsuma-yaki, are sometimes franked by dealers whose standing should forbid such frauds. In this context it may be mentioned that, of late years, decoration of a remarkably microscopic character has been successfully practised in Kioto, Osaka and Kobe, its originator being Meisan of Osaka. Before dismissing the subject of modern Tokyo ceramics, it may be added that Kato Tomataro, mentioned above in connexion with the manufacture of special glazes, has also been very successful in producing porcelains decorated with blue _sous couverte_ at his factory in the Koishikawa suburb.

Modern Wares of Hirado.

Higuchi of Hirado is to be classed with ceramists of the new school on account of one ware only, namely, porcelain having translucid decoration, the so-called "grains of rice" of American collectors, designated _hotaru-de_ (firefly style) in Japan. That, however, is an achievement of no small consequence, especially since it had never previously been essayed outside China. The Hirado expert has not yet attained technical skill equal to that of the Chinese. He cannot, like them, cover the greater part of a specimen's surface with a lacework of transparent decoration, exciting wonder that _pâte_ deprived so greatly of continuity could have been manipulated without accident. But his artistic instincts are higher than those of the Chinese, and there is reasonable hope that in time he may excel their best works. In other respects the Hirado factories do not produce wares nearly so beautiful as those manufactured there between 1759 and 1840, when the _Hirado-yaki_ stood at the head of all Japanese porcelain on account of its pure, close-grained _pâte_, its lustrous milk-white glaze, and the soft clear blue of its carefully executed decoration.

Ware of Owari.

The Owari potters were slow to follow the lead of Miyagawa Shozan and Seifu Yohei. At the industrial exhibition in Kioto (1895) the first results of their efforts were shown, attracting attention at once. In medieval times Owari was celebrated for faience glazes of various colours, much affected by the tea-clubs, but its staple manufacture from the beginning of the 19th century was porcelain decorated with blue under the glaze, the best specimens of which did not approach their Chinese prototypes in fineness of _pâte_, purity of glaze or richness of colour. During the first twenty-five years of the Meiji era the Owari potters sought to compensate the technical and artistic defects of their pieces by giving them magnificent dimensions; but at the Tokyo industrial exhibition (1891) they were able to contribute some specimens showing decorative, plastic and graving skill of no mean order. Previously to that time, one of the Seto experts, Kato Gosuke, had developed remarkable ability in the manufacture of _céladon_, though in that field he was subsequently distanced by Seifu of Kioto. Only lately did Owari feel the influence of the new movement towards Chinese types. Its potters took _flambé_ glazes for models, and their pieces possessed an air of novelty that attracted connoisseurs. But the style was not calculated to win general popularity, and the manufacturing processes were too easy to occupy the attention of great potters. On a far higher level stood egg-shell porcelain, remarkable examples of which were sent from Seto to the Kioto industrial exhibition of 1895. Chinese potters of the Yung-lo era (1403-1414) enriched their country with a quantity of ware to which the name of _totai-ki_ (bodiless utensil) was given on account of its wonderfully attenuated _pâte_. The finest specimens of this porcelain had incised decoration, sparingly employed but adding much to the beauty of the piece. In subsequent eras the potters of King-te-chen did not fail to continue this remarkable manufacture, but its only Japanese representative was a porcelain distinctly inferior in more than one respect, namely, the egg-shell utensils of Hizen and Hirado, some of which had finely woven basket-cases to protect their extreme fragility. The Seto experts, however, are now making bowls, cups and vases that rank nearly as high as the celebrated Yung-lo totai-ki. In purity of tone and velvet-like gloss of surface there is distinct inferiority on the side of the Japanese ware, but in thinness of _pâte_ it supports comparison, and in profusion and beauty of incised decoration it excels its Chinese original.

Ware of Kaga.

Latest of all to acknowledge the impulse of the new departure have been the potters of Kaga. For many years their ware enjoyed the credit, or discredit, of being the most lavishly decorated porcelain in Japan. It is known to Western collectors as a product blazing with red and gold, a very degenerate offspring of the Chinese Ming type, which Hozen of Kioto reproduced so beautifully at the beginning of the 19th century under the name of _eiraku-yaki_. Undoubtedly the best specimens of this _kinran-de_ (brocade) porcelain of Kaga merit praise and admiration; but, on the whole, ware so gaudy could not long hold a high place in public esteem. The Kaga potters ultimately appreciated that defect. They still manufacture quantities of tea and coffee sets, and dinner or dessert services of red-and-gold porcelain for foreign markets; but about 1885 some of them made zealous and patient efforts to revert to the processes that won so much fame for the old Kutani-yaki, with its grand combinations of rich, lustrous, soft-toned glazes. The attempt was never entirely successful, but its results restored something of the Kaga kilns' reputation. Since 1895, again, a totally new departure has been made by Morishita Hachizaemon, a ceramic expert, in conjunction with Shida Yasukyo, president of the Kaga products joint stock company (_Kaga bussan kabushiki kaisha_) and teacher in the Kaga industrial school. The line chosen by these ceramists is purely Chinese. Their great aim seems to be the production of the exquisite Chinese monochromes known as _u-kwo-tien-tsing_ (blue of the sky after rain) and _yueh-peh_ (_clair-de-lune_). But they also devote much attention to porcelains decorated with blue or red _sous couverte_. Their work shows much promise, but like all fine specimens of the Sino-Japanese school, the prices are too high to attract wide custom.

Summary.

The sum of the matter is that the modern Japanese ceramist, after many efforts to cater for the taste of the Occident, evidently concludes that his best hope consists in devoting all his technical and artistic resources to reproducing the celebrated wares of China. In explanation of the fact that he did not essay this route in former times, it may be noted, first, that he had only a limited acquaintance with the wares in question; secondly, that Japanese connoisseurs never attached any value to their countrymen's imitation of Chinese porcelains so long as the originals were obtainable; thirdly, that the ceramic art of China not having fallen into its present state of decadence, the idea of competing with it did not occur to outsiders; and fourthly, that Europe and America had not developed their present keen appreciation of Chinese masterpieces. Yet it is remarkable that China, at the close of the 19th century, should have again furnished models to Japanese eclecticism.