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IMARI CERAMICS, IMARI PORCELAIN
 ARITA. Center of Japan's porcelain industry. Arita is located in Saga Prefecture on the southern island of Kyushu. First porcelain deposits in Japan were discovered here. Porcelain techniques introduced by Korean potters in 17th century; see "Nabeshima" below. Arita ware was made primarily for export, and often use overglaze enamel pigments.
IMARI. Porcelain produced in Arita was typically shipped to other Japanese cities and elsewhere in Asia and Europe from the port city of Imari. Arita porcelain is thus also called "Imari" ware. Naming conventions for porcelain are sometimes difficult to grasp. For example, the first porcelain made in Japan is called "Old Imari Porcelain - Arita Ware." See Arita above.
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Imari Ware
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Imari Ware
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Imari Ware
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Imari Ware
NABESHIMA. In the early 1600s, Nabeshima Naoshige, the feudal lord of the Sage Clan, brought a group of Korean potters to Japan, including the potter Risampei, who in 1616 discovered a superior white-stoned clay at Izumiyama (Izumi Mountain, Arita). Wares fired with this earth are called "hakuji" (white porcelain). Some say this was the beginning of Arita Ware. As porcelain grew in popularity, the Nabeshima Clan took steps to keep their production and decorating techniques a closely guarded secret. They were aided in this effort by the Tokugawa Shogunate and other feudal lords, who commissioned the Nabeshima Clan to make porcelain for only the elite classes -- the sale of Nabeshima ware to commoners was actually forbidden, and the number of kilns and wheels was strictily limited by law.
PORCELAIN. Called "jiki" in Japanese, porcelain was introduced to Japan in the 17th century by Korean potters, and was influenced greatly by Chinese Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) porcelain techniques. In the next two centuries in Japan, the growing popularity of porcelain -- plus the widespread introduction of mass-produced ceramic ware -- caused the traditional single-chamber anagama to be largely abandoned in favor of porcelain kilns and the multi-chambered noborigama (the latter is better suited for large-scale ceramic production than is the anagama).
For a more detailed review of the many types of porcelain, please visit Robert Yellin's Porcelain Styles Guidebook.
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Imari Bowl
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