About the time (1843) of the ao-Kutani revival, a potter called lida
Hachiroemon introduced a style of decoration which subsequently came
to be regarded as typical of all Kaga procelains. Taking the Eiraku
porcelains of Kioto as models, Hachiroemon employed red grounds with
designs traced on them in gold. The style was not absolutely new in
Kaga. We find similar decoration on old and choice examples of
Kutani-yaki. But the character of the old red differs essentially from
that of the modern manufacture--the former being a soft, subdued
colour, more like a bloom than an enamel; the latter a glossy and
comparatively crude pigment. In Hachiroemon's time and during the
twenty years following the date of his innovation, many beautiful
examples of elaborately decorated Kutani porcelain were produced. The
richness, profusion and microscopic accuracy of their decoration could
scarcely have been surpassed; but, with very rare exceptions, their
lack of delicacy of technique disqualifies them to rank as fine
porcelains.
Owari.
It was at the little village of Seto, some five miles from Nagoya, the
chief town of the province of Owari, or Bishu, that the celebrated
Kato Shirozaemon made the first Japanese faience worthy to be
considered a technical success. Shirozaemon produced dainty little
tea-jars, ewers and other _cha-no-yu_ utensils. These, being no longer
stoved in an inverted position, as had been the habit before
Shirozaemon's time, were not disfigured by the bare, blistered lips of
their predecessors. Their _pâte_ was close and well-manufactured
pottery, varying in colour from dark brown to russet, and covered with
thick, lustrous glazes--black, amber-brown, chocolate and yellowish
grey. These glazes were not monochromatic: they showed differences of
tint, and sometimes marked varieties of colour; as when
chocolate-brown passed into amber, or black was relieved by streaks
and clouds of grey and dead-leaf red. This ware came to be known as
_Toshiro-yaki_, a term obtained by combining the second syllable of
Kato with the two first of Shirozaemon. A genuine example of it is at
present worth many times its weight in gold to Japanese dilettanti,
though in foreign eyes it is little more than interesting. Shirozaemon
was succeeded at the kiln by three generations of his family, each
representative retaining the name of Toshiro, and each distinguishing
himself by the excellence of his work. Thenceforth Seto became the
headquarters of the manufacture of _cha-no-yu_ utensils, and many of
the tiny pieces turned out there deserve high admiration, their
technique being perfect, and their mahogany, russet-brown, amber and
buff glazes showing wonderful lustre and richness. Seto, in fact,
acquired such a widespread reputation for its ceramic productions that
the term _seto-mono_ (Seto article) came to be used generally for all
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