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