| History of Imari Porcelain |
| Beginning .......... During the Sengoku period (1477-1573), the feudal lords in Japan struggled in the constant armed conflicts of each other. At the same time, among these samurai worriers, the tea ceremony became popular besides fighting. In the Japanese tea culture known as sado or chanoyu, it is most essential to acquire a taste of connoisseur-ship of the fine objects including the Chinese & Korean ceramics. Oda Nobunaga (1546-1582), who became very close to unify the country under his power, was particularly interested in chanoyu and owned many rare objects in his collection. After Nobunaga tragically ended his life in fire at the Honnoji Temple, attacked by his own samurai, Akechi Mitsuhide, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536-1598) became the ruler of Japan. Hideyoshi, who had established this tea ceremony as the display of the high ranking status in the feudal hierarchy, started to extend his ambition towards China. During his reign, Hideyoshi sent his army to Korea, known as Bunroku & Keicho Campaigns (1592-98). The lord Nabeshima of Saga joined the campaigns under Hideyoshi's order. During the invasion of Korea, many potters and craftsmen were captured and brought back to Japan by them. In the early 17th century, it is said that these Korean potters discovered kaolin in Arita and started to make porcelain wares for the first time in the Japanese history. This Hideyoshi's foreign war is known to people as "Chawan Senso" which can be translated to "Tea Cup War". About IMARI.......... Imari porcelain was first potted at Arita Sarayama in the 1610's. In Japanese, sarayama refers to an original, or an ancient site where porcelains or the potteries were made. In the early 17th century, these porcelain products were brought to the port of Imari just to the north of Arita for the trade. As the popularity and demands for the Imari porcelain grew, the more kilns were built in the Arita sarayama and before too long the other kilns were started all over in the province of Hizen which included the current Saga prefecture and the most of the Nagasaki prefecture. In 1637, with the rapid growth of the porcelain industry in the area, the Nabeshima clan started to regulate the local kilns. In the 1640's, the new technique of enameling methods was introduced which allowed the porcelain makers to decorate with more colors including red, green, yellow and purple. This type of the porcelain is called akae or iroe. Around this period, China was entering into the political power struggles caused by the rebels. In 1644, Beijing was invaded and the Ming dynasty was ended. Since the China's porcelain trade was disrupted due to the turmoil, the Dutch East India Company (VOC) which developed the trade between East Asia and Europe sought the replacement in the Imari products. Many stunning vases and large chargers were brought to Europe to decorate the king's castles. And also colorful bowls and plates were shipped out to Osaka and Edo where the culture of the wealthy merchants was flourishing. The word "Imari" became the name which stands for the beautiful high quality porcelain known to the whole world. |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| IMARI |
|