Page 77 - Edo: Art in Japan, 1615–1868

8 9 10
large sake ewer with Chinese lions Dish with lotus leaf and Large shallow bowl with
and peony design geometric pattern chrysanthemum design
c. 16405 Late 16405 c. 16505-16605
Hizen ware, Kokutani style Hizen ware, Kokutani style Hizen ware, aode Kokutani style
Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue Porcelain with underglaze cobalt blue Porcelain with polychrome
and overglaze polychrome enamels and polychrome overglaze enamels overglaze enamels
5
3
Height 19.4 (7 /s) Diameter 33 (13) Diameter 47.5 (i8 A)
Agency for Cultural Affairs, Tokyo Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo Idemitsu Museum of Arts, Tokyo
Important Cultural Property
Illustrated page 57 Illustrated page 61
Illustrated page 59
76 • This is an excellent example of the • Aode (blue green) ware is one of
• "Hizen ware" is the term used in strength of Kokutani-style design. the most experimental and visually
this book for porcelains made at Though materials were often rough, compelling of all Japanese porcelain
kilns in the Arita area, Hizen province. firing methods irregular, and the styles, its saturated colors nearly
The style designation, in this case application of enamels careless, the obscuring the motifs. This exception-
"Kokutani" (Old Kutani), refers to the designs influenced the production of ally large shallow bowl is completely
type of decoration employed on the later Hizen ware throughout the covered with enamels of green, yellow,
porcelain. Edo period. For example, a Nabeshima and purple (derived from manganese),
bowl with heron and lotus design while the outlines are drawn in brown-
This sake ewer (chóshi) is a particu- (cat. 2i) imitates the way this Koku- ish black. The bowl is distinguished
larly fine example of early Kokutani
from
most Kokutani-style ware by the
style, both in form and in decoration. tani-style dish depicts a partial lotus brightness of the enamels. The bold
difference
leaf. There is a noticeable
Its form is derived from metal proto- in the quality of execution, however. composition is made up of Japanese
types. Its allover decoration is a
painterly rendition of three Chinese The flowing outline of the refined elements: chrysanthemums, stylized
pattern.
Nabeshima-ware leaf is drawn and
flowers, and a stylized water
lions and four blossoming peonies filled in with great care, whereas the
that displays careful attention to Kokutani-style leaf is partly flopped It has been suggested that the aode
detail, especially around the spout over, its veins more naturalistically style is an allusion to screen paint-
and the handle. ing, the yellow enamel referring to
defined. Even with the technical im-
The body of the ewer is decorated perfections, this dish conveys a sense gold leaf, and the green to malachite
similar to
the
pigment. A pattern
in red, green, blue, and yellow over- of life absent in the later example. stylized flowers in the background of
glaze enamels, in the dark, rich hues The vitality of this dish derives in this piece is occasionally embossed
typical of Kokutani-style production. part from the spatial illusion created (moriage) on the gold cloud bands
The handle, however, is painted only by the motif and ground. Most of the that appear on many Kano screens.
in underglaze cobalt blue. Perhaps interior is covered with a diamond-
this was because it was understood The main motif on this bowl, seven
shaped pattern. Six concentric dia-
that overglaze enamels wear, and monds make up each unit, with alter- chrysanthemum flowers and three
a hardy underglaze decoration was nating geometric and blank bands buds, is echoed in the stylized back-
most appropriate for the handle, visible. Twelve different geometric ground. A band of green flowing water
which would receive the most use. encircles the interior of the rim. A
patterns are employed, in both posi-
similar chrysanthemum design can
Kokutani-style porcelains have con- tive and negative forms. Covering the be found in the textile pattern books
tinued to attract attention from their bottom third of the dish, a large three- that became popular as a design
first appearance until the present dimensional lotus leaf is outlined in source for all craft media beginning
day. Sherds of this ware have been ex- cobalt blue and filled in with green in the Kanbun era.
cavated from various daimyo house- enamel. The leaf appears to be placed
holds in Edo, confirming that it was in front of a flat geometric surface, In a reflection of the design on the
owned and used by the military elite creating an intriguing optical illusion. interior of the bowl, the exterior sports
of the time. a chrysanthemum scroll in iron oxide
The exterior of the dish is encircled
It can be assumed that this piece was with a stylized peony scroll, and an against a yellow enamel ground.
In the center of the footring, again in
produced at the Maruo kiln in Arita, abstracted square good luck seal iron oxide, is a stylized good luck
as sherds with an identical knob lid (fuku) lies inside the footring, both mark (fuku). NCR
have been excavated there. NCR of which are painted in underglaze
cobalt blue. NCR