Page 52 - Japanese marks and seals on pottery, paper and other objects.

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14 MARKS AND SEALS ON POTTERY.

The marks and seals are in nearly all instances
written in Chinese characters, each of which signifies a word,
the Japanese Kata-kana and Hira-kana letters being seldom
used except as auxiliaries to connect or complete a sentence
composed of Chinese words. These are written in four ways,
known as the Sosho, Giosho, Kaisho, and Reisho styles the
;
first two are those in daily use for correspondence, but
signatures are generally written in Giosho fashion the Kaisho
;
style is employed in the printing of books, and for writing
titles and documents of a ceremonial nature, whilst stamps
and seals are generally rendered in the Reisho characters.
All of these styles of writing are aptly illustrated by
the following inscriptions copied from wares made by Kiso,
a Hizen potter they all have precisely the same meaning,
;
namely. Made by Kiso Toshikian the characters in these
marks are identical, with the exception of the upper and
lower words in the fourth inscription, which, although bearing
the same interpretation as those employed in the others, are
written in a different form.

Made by Kiso Toshikian.

With the view of facilitating the easier comprehension of
the marks, it may be well to give examples of the characters
most frequently used, and to show the different styles in
which they are written.