EXHIBIT AT THE COTTON STATES EXPOSITION. 627 



Here also was shown a collection to illustrate the development of the 

 ceramic art in Japan. This had been arranged by Mr. Heroniich 

 Shugio, and, although it did not contain any considerable number of 

 very costly pieces, it was historically quite complete, and was described 

 by Mr. Shugio as follows: 



Japanese history mentions that some pottery was made in a village 

 of ldsuini to a considerable extent from the very early days, and that 

 another factory was in existence in the province of Ouri during the 

 period of 581-6G0, B. C. Twenty-nine years before the Christian era 

 Teuno Suijin ordered that human figures made of burnt clay be buried 

 with his wife, Empress Hihasubrine, in place other attendants, as had 

 been customary until that time whenever any member of the imperial 

 family died. This humane decree abolished an abominable custom, 

 and the pottery in its infancy played one of the most important and 

 noblest acts in history. 



The early productions were of more unglazed burnt clay, not like 

 those of the early American pottery. 



The introduction of the potter's wheel by Giyoki, a priest of ldsumi, 

 in 724 A. D., must be taken as the real beginning of our ceramic art. 



The first glazed stoneware is said to have been made by Kato Shi- 

 roye, now at Seto, in the province of Owari, in 1223 A. 1)., after his 

 return from China, where he spent several years in studying ceramic 

 art.. From his time, Seto became the center of ceramic art, and all the 

 ceramic productions came to be called "Seto mono" in Japan, as all 

 the porcelains are called "China" in Great Britain and America. 



The first porcelain was made by Gordayu Shonsui, a native of the 

 province of Ise, who studied ceramic art in China in about 1513. His 

 productions were mostly made with Chinese materials, which were 

 brought back by him from + hat country, and they were decorated in 

 blue under the glaze. 



The greatest progress in Japanese ceramic art has been made since 

 the triumphant return of the Korean expedition in 1859, when many 

 skillful Korean potters were brought over and the famous ceramic. fac- 

 tories of Hizen, Higo, Chikuzen, Satsuma, Tosa, Nagato, Yamashiro, 

 Owari, etc., were either established or improved by those potters. 



The first potter who succeeded in decorating porcelain with enamel 

 paintings over the glaze was the celebrated potter Kakiyemon, of the 

 Sakaida family of Nangawara, a village near Arita, who mastered this 

 secret of enamel painting from Tokuzayemon, of Iinri, who learned his 

 method from a captain of a Chinese ship at Nagasaki in 1640. 



Kakiyemon was assisted in his essays in enamel painting by Gosu 

 Gombei, another well-known potter. In 1646 Kakiyemon is said to 

 have sold his decorated porcelains to a Chinese trader in Nagasaki, 

 and thus he has the honor of being the first Japanese potter who dec- 

 orated porcelains with enamels and who sold Japanese porcelains to a 

 foreigner. Since then his productions were bought by Chinese and 

 Dutch traders at Nagasaki to export. He was honored by Prince 

 Naheshinia Samio, of Hizen, by being appointed a special maker to 

 his highness. Specimens numbers 150 and 151 are his works. Although 

 they are not his best works, they will be found, on close examination, 

 to be the works of a master hand. 



Nisei, the great Kioto potter, through the generosity and liberality 

 of Wankiu, a wealthy Osaka merchant, succeeded during 1655-1657 in 

 decorating pottery with enamel painting after the newly introduced 

 method by Kakiyemon, now so much admired as the Ninsei ware. 



