[Illustration: Fig. 126.--Suma Earthen-ware. Blue Slate Color; Black, Red, and Reddish-brown Decoration. (A. A. Vantine & Co.)] It is unnecessary to do more than enumerate the wares of Suma, or Soma, Nara, Ota, Idsumi, and Kaga, or Kutani, some of which approach translucent porcelain so nearly as to be entitled to be classed with it. The specimen (Fig. 126) is chosen for illustration for a very simple reason. The body is a common coarse earthen-ware, manipulated with very moderate skill, and the color is in no respect remarkable. But in the disposal of the grape-vine decoration, and the drawing and attitude of the bird, there is nothing more simple and tasteful to be seen on the finest Hizen porcelain. In spite of the humble material, the artist compels our admiration. It is the same wherever we turn. Art is for all, the lowly as well as the rich, and embellishes every object, the humble as well as the most costly. There are simple vessels, teapots, and cups of clay, thin as Banko ware, and left unglazed, which for very oddity and perfection of workmanship are worthy of a place in any collection. Mr. Sutton has two pieces of this character. One is a teapot shaped like a partially folded leaf, having its sides drawn together to form the spout. The lid is like an elongated shell, and is thin and light as a leaf. The other is also a teapot, and resembles a transverse section of the trunk of a tree. In such cases the artist is lost sight of in the workman. The pieces have neither grace of form nor beauty of color, but they attract us by the evidences they present of human skill contending with difficulty for the mere satisfaction of overcoming it. They are triumphs of dexterity and curiosities of design, and, though rare, are thoroughly representative of a large section of Japanese ceramic art. In its simplest as well as its most beautiful forms, nature is the promptress of the Japanese artist (Fig. 127). We see it in such works as those last described equally with the gorgeous flowers and drooping vine, and in it have the key to the infinite variety of the art of Japan. [Illustration: Fig. 127.--Satsuma Vase. Decoration, Green and Red. Height, 13 in. (Robert H. Pruyn Coll.)] PORCELAIN. Leading Differences between Japanese and Chinese.--Sometsuki Blue.--Ware for Export.--Gosai, or Nishikide.--Arita, or Hizen.--Families.--Decoration.--Modern Hizen.--Seidji.--Kioto.--Eraku.--Kaga.--Portraiture.--Owari. --Lacquer.--Cloisonné.--Rose Family.--Early Styles: Indian: Dutch Designs.--General Characteristics of Japanese Art.