XVIII.] 
THE CERAMIC ART OF JAPAN. 
381 
Japan, because the distance was too great. Hideyoshi therefore 
gave the above order, and the ears and noses, which were brought 
to Japan, were buried together at that place. The grave is 
730 feet in circumference, and is 30 feet high.” 
Kioto is one of the principal places for the manufacture of 
faience, porcelain, and cloisonne. The productions of the ceramic 
art are, as is well-known, distinguished by their tasteful forms 
and beautiful colours, and are highly valued by connoisseurs, 
on which account they are exported on a large scale to Europe 
and America. The works are numerous and small, and are 
owned for the most part by families that for a long succession 
of generations have devoted themselves to the same occupation. 
The articles are burned in very small furnaces, and are commonly 
sold in a shop which is close to the place where they are made. 
The making of porcelain in Japan, therefore, bears the stamp 
rather of handicraft than of manufacturing industry. The wares 
gain thereby in respect of art to an almost incredible degree. 
They have the same relation to the productions of the great 
European manufactories that the drawing of an artist has to 
a showily coloured lithograph. But the price is high in propor¬ 
tion, and the Japanese porcelain is too dear for every-day use 
even in its own country. Nearly all the large sets of table 
porcelain that I saw in Japan were, therefore, ordered from 
. abroad. The cups which the natives themselves use for rice, 
tea, and saki are, however, of native manufacture; but even 
in a well-provided Japanese household there is seldom so much 
porcelain as would be required for a proper coffee-party 
at home. 
In the evening the Governor had invited us to a dinner, 
which was given in a hall belonging to a literary society in 
the town. The rooms were partly furnished in European style 
with tables, chairs, Brussels carpets, &c. The dinner was 
European in the arrangement of dishes, wines, and speeches. 
The dishes and wines were abundant and in great variety. The 
