This type of Imari ware was made by the Fukagawa Koransha potters of Arita. In 1875, Ezaiemon Fukagawa founded Koransha (The Company of the Scented Orchid) in Arita to produce table wares for export. The next year, Koransha exhibited at the Philadelphia Exhibition, and in 1878 they exhibited in Paris. Koransha porcelains are noted for their excellence and consistent high quality.

Also known as Shofu Kajo, this potter was born in Seto, moving to Kyoto in 1890. Shofu excelled in hard-paste porcelains and was known for his blowout designs in multi-colored glazes. He is said to have invented several new techniques, including moriage porcelain, which is exemplified by this vase. He was awarded the Green Ribbon in 1915. Shofu’s works are generally classified in the same league as those of studio potters Makazu Kozan and Seifu Yohei III. Several examples of his porcelains are featured in “Treasures of Imperial Japan: Ceramics from the Khalili Collection,” including Figure 37, which illustrates a vase modeled in low relief.

It was extremely difficult for us to capture the true blue background color, and the blue shown in our first ten photos is a bit too bright. See Enlargement Photos 11 and 12 for a closer representation of the actual blue background color of this vase.

The upper tray held finely sifted wood ash, tamped flat and smooth, over which the wooden grid template was placed. A furrow was cut into the ash in the shape of the grid lines and then filled with powdered incense which burned at a uniform rate. Once the incense was placed into the continuous track, the grid was removed and the incense ignited. The latticework cover was then put in place to prevent a breeze from accelerating the rate of combustion of the burning incense. The incense would burn continuously for hours as the lighted edge made its way around the grid design.

Continual offerings of incense using a jokoban were often found in Japanese Buddhist temples during religious rites. Because long periods of time could be measured by the amount of incense burned, this type of Japanese incense clock was also used in community life as well as in the temples. Examples of old kobandokei show burn scars, overall evidence of handling and the presence of ash or powdered incense. Relatively few examples of antique incense clocks have survived. This is a rare item for Buddhist temples or serious Buddhist practitioners.

Arita is a town on the island of Kyushu which has been a center of Japanese porcelain production since the seventeenth century. With Arita blue and whites, the blue is produced from a cobalt or indigo pigment and is painted straight onto the biscuit, after which the piece is glazed and fired.

Nabeshima ware is considered to be the most Japanese of all the porcelains and the most technically perfect. It was made at Okawachi, north of Arita, and was named after the prince who founded the kilns at the end of the 17th century. The porcelain was of much higher quality than that made for export and was originally made as presentation ware for the local nobility. Production was limited, and less than perfect specimens were destroyed. Its elegance was considered to be the epitome of refinement, and production methods were kept a carefully guarded secret. From 1868 on, Nabeshima wares were produced for domestic use and Western export.

The miniature figure of Kannon stands on a lotus blossom base in a rocky outcropping, encased in a boat-shaped body halo or mandala. He is represented as an Indian prince with a crown, jewels and skirt, and he holds a bottle of heavenly nectar. Polychrome pigments have been used to color his hair and jewels, and there are gilt highlights on both the figure and the rocks. Kannon (called “Kuan-yin” in Chinese) is the bodhisattva or saint of mercy and compassion. The Japanese term Kannon literally means "watchful listening," and it is often translated as "the one who sees/hears all." This is indeed the task of the compassionate Kannon -- to witness and listen to the prayers and cries of those in difficulty in the earthly realm and to help them achieve enlightenment.

The tiny figure of Kobo Daishi is seated inside the doors of a miniature shrine. He sits on a wood chair which rests atop a pedestal, and his shoes are placed underneath the front of the chair in customary form. He holds a Buddhist rosary in his left hand and a vajra (mace with four prongs symbolizing a thunderbolt) in his right hand. There are gilt highlights on the figure and the shrine doors and drapery. Kobo Daishi (774-835) is one of the most venerated figures of early Japanese Buddhism. He was the founder of the Shingon (True Word) sect of Buddhism, as well as a philosopher, poet, educational reformer, painter and calligrapher.

The art nouveau era produced wonders in match safes as countries around the world strove to supply the smoker with every conceivable figural conception. Japan, always quick to follow the West in copying and improving on new ideas, produced match-safes in wonderful forms. Mostly made of brass, Japanese cases were made in Eastern designs with unlimited artistic themes, all done in miniature detail with the most pleasing renditions and the highest quality craftsmanship. Match safes were made to give the owner both visual and tactile pleasure as they fit comfortably into the hand. Cases were appealing to both men and women and were easily carried in the kimono sleeve. (See “The Oriental Match-Safe” by Earle J. Stone in ARTS OF ASIA September/October 1986.)

Pewter is an alloy of tin and lead which acquires a unique soft gun-metal color after long usage. The alloy readily lends itself to surface decoration. It is soft, easily worked and readily bonded to a variety of other materials through applying moderate heat. Examples of Ch’ao-chou pewter pieces tend to be identifiable through their frequent use of punches rather than engraving tools to produce surface designs, and Ch’ao-chou pewterers often placed their studio marks on their products. A fondness for punched “pearl” grounds made with hollow punches is also characteristic of Ch’ao-chou pewter. (See “Chinese Pewter Tea Wares” by Bennet Bronson and Ho Chuimei in ARTS OF ASIA November-December 1988.)

The qin is one of the oldest Chinese musical instruments, with a history that spans nearly 3,000 years. It is a board zither with seven strings, seven tuning pegs, thirteen marks for notes and four low feet. The qin was the instrument of the Confucian superior man and most of the scholars of the day were required to study and regularly practice the instrument. Many objects for the scholar’s desk were crafted in the shape of a qin – a shape which has long associations with the pursuits of the scholar.

An important part of the paraphernalia connected with opium smoking was the opium box, which was used to hold the gummy substance. Opium boxes are small in size, usually round or oblong in shape. With few exceptions, they have deep pull-off covers which tend to fit quite tightly over the inner flange. They were manufactured, for the most part, from the late-18th to the early 20th century. (An oblong paktong opium box of similar style is illustrated in Figure 22 of the book “Chinese Opium Boxes: H. J. Eiley Collection” by Catherine Pagani. This book features opium boxes from the extensive personal collection donated to and displayed in the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.)

The alloy paktong also has a fascinating history. Centuries before nickel was isolated in the west, the Chinese had produced an alloy of zinc, copper and nickel which had the lustrous sheen and color tone of silver, was appreciably harder than silver, and did not tarnish in use. Many examples of this alloy have a particularly pleasing color which is silver bright but possesses what has been termed a “soul of gold.” For additional information about paktong, see our article in ARTS OF ASIA, Nov/Dec. 1992.

With its beautiful dense grain, keyaki is the most expensive of Japanese woods. It is a sturdy, long-lasting hardwood requiring little maintenance. Pieces crafted from burled keyaki – wood taken from the knotty area near the trunk of the tree that is noted for its handsome, clustered grain that appears wavy or curly – are especially coveted. This wood is now so rare that typically only planed thin sheets of veneer are used instead of solid pieces.

Yasokichi III is famed for his mastery of Kutani glazes, and the astonishing depth and color he has achieved with this vase are an excellent example of that skill. His works are mostly done in simple forms which do not compete with the spectacular colors and graduated glazes which so thoroughly dominate his ceramic art. Pieces made by this highly sought Japanese artist are consistently displayed at national and international exhibitions, and they are well represented in many museum and private collections as well.

Born Tokuda Masahiko in Komatsu, Japan, he started potting at the age of 18. He studied Kutani glazing with his grandfather, the first Yasokichi (1873-1957) and modern pottery with his father, Yasokichi II (1907-1997). Tokuda graduated from Kanazawa College of Art and won the NHK Chairman's Prize with his first entry in the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition in 1971. He won the highest award at the Japan Traditional Crafts Exhibition: the Japan Crafts Association's Chairman's Prize in 1977, the Hokkoku Shimbun Cultural Award in 1985, and the Japan Pottery Association Prize in 1986, when he was also designated an Intangible Cultural Asset of Ishikawa's kutani-yaki pottery. In 1988, he took the potter’s name Yasokichi. He won the Chichibunomiya Cup, the most prestigious prize at the Japan Pottery Exhibition in 1991. He was designated Important Intangible Cultural Asset (Living National Treasure) in 1997.