Page 64 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

cat. 15 63
Dish luith spider's web design,
c. 1673-1681,
Hizen ware porcelain,
Koimari style,
T
2i.i (8 /4) in diameter,
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum,
Saga

The visual interplay of surface and motif continued throughout the Edo period with increasing
sophistication. Eiraku Hozen's water jar with a design of two carp jumping among the waves (cat. 50)
reveals an element of parody. The water jar, true to mature Edo style, has several levels of meaning: its
use in the tea ceremony is typically Japanese, with an intentional visual pun on the water contained
within the vessel and that represented on the outside. While the deep green glaze evokes water, it is
also a direct reference to a style of southern Chinese ceramics produced in the late sixteenth century,
called Kóchi ware in Japan. The exotic allusion to China is amplified in the motif, which was common
on Kóchi ware. Another play of kazari involves the medium. The vessel is stoneware, but the fish are
executed in a Japanese makie lacquer technique, which would echo the lacquer lid that covered the