Following!the!query!it!is!confirmed!that!the!ceramic!vessels!for!use!by!
the!empress!dowager![will!be]!as!per!the!design!to!the!left,!instruction!is!
made!to!the!Head!of!the!Imperial!Cuisine!Division!by!the!Minister!of!the!
Imperial!Household!on!March!23,!1875.!
Annotation!on!design,!18751!
!
Among!the!collections!of!the!Imperial!Cuisine!Division!of!Japan’s!Imperial!
Household!Agency!is!a!design!for!a!shallow!dish!(Figure(2.1).!With!steep!curving!
sides,!this!dish!would!not!be!suitable!for!dining!with!knife!and!fork.!The!level!
motion!of!a!dinner!knife!would!be!impeded,!forcing!it!to!be!used!at!an!angle!
unsuited!to!cutting.!A!diner!using!chopsticks,!however,!would!find!solace!in!these!
low!walls!that!offer!support!to!the!capture!of!any!evasive!morsels.!The!surface!of!
the!dish!is!sectioned!by!a!central!blue!ring.!Outside!this!ring,!three!longOtailed!birds!
are!captured!in!flight.!Between!them!are!three!imperial!chrysanthemum!crests!with!
two!layers!of!sixteen!petals,!and!tortoiseshell!motifs!containing!flowers.!The!drawn!
profile!indicates!a!swirling!arabesque!on!the!outer!surface.!The!annotation!specifies!
that!plates!of!this!design!are!to!be!used!by!Empress!Dowager!Eishō,!a!matter!
confirmed!on!March!23,!1875:!the!eighth!year!of!the!Meiji!era.!!
The!design!described!above!was!featured!in!the!catalogue!of!the!exhibition!
Kyōen:)Kindai)no)tēburu)āto)(English!title:!Imperial)Feasts:)Modern)Table)Art)!held!at!
the!Sannomaru!Shōzōkan!in!2000.2!As!its!title!suggests,!the!subject!of!this!exhibition!
was!the!tableware!of!the!modern!imperial!court,!in!other!words!the!imperial!court!
of!the!Meiji!era!(1868–1912).!However,!focusing!on!imperial!tableware!in!Western!
style,!JapaneseOstyle!tableware!was!absent!from!this!reconstruction!of!Japan’s!
modern!imperial!table.!The!only!exception,!this!design!was!included!as!a!figure!
within!the!catalogue’s!introductory!essay!on!the!fringe!of!discussion.3!In!contrast,!a!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1!Text!taken!from!Figure!1!of!Ōkuma,!‘Kyūchū!yōshokushi!kō,’!8.!Author’s!translation.!
2!Kunaichō,!ed.,!Kyōen:)Kindai.!!
3!Ōkuma,!‘Kyūchū!yōshokushi!kō,’!5,!8.!
sister!exhibition!at!the!same!venue!the!previous!year!stressed!the!traditional!aspect!
of!grand!banquets!given!during!imperial!enthronement!celebrations.4!Focusing!on!
the!banquet!held!for!Emperor!Akihito’s!enthronement!in!1990,!this!exhibition!
sought!the!origins!of!these!practices!in!the!past,!an!approach!that!can!obscure!
moments!of!change!and!overlook!the!agency!behind!tradition.!Highlighting!the!
comparative!novelty!of!porcelain!imperial!tableware!within!the!Japanese!imperial!
court,!this!chapter!reveals!that!during!the!Meiji!era!continuity!with!the!past!in!this!
respect!was!actively!(and!selectively)!constructed.!
The!proposition!examined!here!is!that!indigenous!and!imported!forms!of!
tableware!were!two!aspects!of!a!single!strategy:!the!construction!of!the!Meiji!
Emperor’s!sovereign!identity.!As!such,!the!purpose!of!this!chapter!is!to!draw!such!
‘traditional’!items!into!the!discussion!of!the!imperial!court’s!material!identity.!
Archival!sources!reveal!that!this!design!was!one!of!a!group!of!such!designs!
implemented!in!1875.!Echoing!the!court!clothing!regulations!of!1873!discussed!in!
Chapter!1,!these!documents!stipulated!designs!for!tableware!to!be!used!by!the!
Meiji!Emperor,!Empress!Shōken!and!the!Empress!Dowager!Eishō.!Following!
precedents!established!during!the!Edo!period!(1615–1868)!both!in!their!decoration!
and!their!makers,!this!new!system!for!imperial!tableware!connected!the!imperial!
family!to!the!material!legacy!of!their!forebears.!Considered!in!this!light,!these!
objects!play!an!important!role!in!the!definition!of!the!Meiji!Emperor.!
In!order!to!elucidate!this!role,!the!nature!of!this!material!‘tradition’!and!its!
MeijiOera!transition!must!be!examined.!The!first!part!of!this!chapter!examines!
ceramic!tableware!produced!for!imperial!use!in!the!Edo!period.!Known!as!kinri) goyōtōki:!‘ceramics!for!use!in!the!imperial!palace,’!scholarly!interest!in!these!objects!
was!recently!stimulated!by!archaeological!excavations!in!the!vicinity!of!the!Kyoto!
Palace.!Building!on!these!studies,!I!compare!the!design,!production!and!use!of!these!
wares!to!Nabeshima!porcelains!of!the!same!period.!Suggesting!that!imperial!
ceramics!were!objects!of!association,!the!use!of!kinri)goyōtōki!in!the!networks!
surrounding!the!court!is!considered!with!reference!to!the!collections!of!a!former!
imperial!convent,!Reikanji.!The!second!part!of!this!chapter!addresses!the!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
4!Kunaichō,!ed.,!Kyōen:)Dentō.!
production!of!similar!ceramics!during!the!Meiji!era.!While!these!objects!offer!a!
measure!of!continuity!with!the!material!practices!of!the!Edo!period,!all!is!not!
necessarily!as!straightforward!as!it!might!seem.!!
In!1986!Hanley!argued!that!too!much!focus!has!been!placed!on!novel!
aspects!of!the!Meiji!era,!leading!researchers!‘to!overlook!or!play!down!the!
continuity!to!be!found!in!the!material!culture,!way!of!life,!and!the!standard!of!living!
during!the!nineteenth!century.’5!In!addressing!the!use!of!EdoOstyle!porcelains!in!the!
Meiji!era,!I!hope!not!to!fall!prey!to!such!assumptions.!However,!while!Hanley!
demonstrated!that!beyond!Japan’s!urban!populations!and!elite,!there!was!
significant!stability!in!people’s!way!of!life!with!change!occurring!more!gradually!
than!many!might!suggest,!in!the!case!of!the!emperor,!I!argue!that!the!apparent!
continuity!in!certain!categories!of!imperial!tableware!was!actively!created.!Archival!
sources!do!not!reveal!an!unbroken!tradition!between!Edo!and!Meiji,!but!rather!the!
development!of!a!new!system!for!imperial!tableware!in!the!early!Meiji!era!that!
knowingly!referenced!the!past.!Constructed!or!otherwise,!should!this!continuity,!as!
Hanley!suggests,!be!seen!as!offering!‘a!stable!base!that!enabled!the!Japanese!
people!to!deal!with!the!political,!economic,!and!cultural!change!that!confronted!
them,’!or!was!it!too!part!of!a!wider!strategy?6!
The!chapters!that!follow!will!return!to!the!Western!tableware!introduced!by!
the!exhibition)Kyōen:)Kindai)no)tēburu)āto.!Bringing!both!Japanese!and!WesternO style!works!together!in!this!reOexamination!of!imperial!tableware!is!vital!to!my!
argument!that!ceramic!tableware!played!a!part!in!the!shaping!of!the!Meiji!
Emperor’s!sovereign!identity.!As!the!Meiji!Emperor’s!position!within!the!wider!
world!was!negotiated,!the!imperial!court!drew!from!its!past!as!much!as!from!the!
cultures!that!surrounded!it.!Here!these!elements!are!divided!into!separate!
chapters:!the!current!chapter!examines!JapaneseOstyle!tableware!and!its!
relationship!to!kinri)goyōtōki)of!the!Edo!period,!Chapter!3!focuses!on!tableware!of!
Western!style!and!origin,!and!Chapter!4!considers!domestically!made!tableware!for!
WesternOstyle!dining.!This!division!is!necessary!for!analysis,!but!the!narratives!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5!Susan!Hanley,!‘The!Material!Culture:!Stability!in!Transition,’!in!Japan)in)Transition:)From)Tokugawa) to)Meiji,!eds.!Marius!B.!Jensen!and!Gilbert!Rozman!(Princeton:!Princeton!University!Press,!1986),!466.!
6!Ibid.,!469.!
developed!overlap!and!intertwine!as!they!reveal!the!strategy!at!their!core.!Kinri) goyōtōki)developed!as!a!material!expression!of!the!identity!of!the!EdoOperiod!
emperors,!carrying!their!agency!in!the!networks!surrounding!the!court.!In!the!Meiji!
era,!this!imperial!legacy!was!a!key!element!of!the!sovereign!identity!shaped!for!the!
Meiji!Emperor,!defining!him!in!terms!of!his!ancestry!and!in!relation!to!those!closest!
to!him.!!
2.1( Kinri%Goyōtōki(
Although!Chinese!porcelains!were!imported!into!Japan!from!the!eleventh!or!
twelfth!century,!up!to!six!centuries!elapsed!before!Japan!developed!its!own!
porcelain!industries.!As!Rousmaniere!has!charted,!during!the!Momoyama!and!Edo!
periods!Chinese!and!subsequently!ChineseOstyle!porcelain!became!vital!to!elite!
strategies!of!display!and!hospitality!within!Japan.7!While!the!first!attempts!at!
porcelain!production!in!Kyushu!in!the!1610s!are!traditionally!attributed!to!the!
efforts!of!Korean!potters,!it!was!Chinese!porcelain!that!quickly!provided!the!model!
for!vessel!forms!and!decoration.8!In!1644,!the!Ming!dynasty!collapsed,!disrupting!
imports!and!stimulating!the!nascent!domestic!porcelain!industry.!Porcelains!
produced!in!the!province!of!Hizen!penetrated!markets!China!could!no!longer!
satisfy:!the!Dutch!East!India!Company!shipped!Japanese!porcelains!to!Southeast!
and!Western!Asia!and!Europe,!while!local!merchants,!prohibited!from!travelling!
overseas!by!the!isolationist!policies!of!the!shogunate,!distributed!wares!within!
Japan.!Japanese!porcelain!graced!the!castles!of!Europe’s!kings,!and,!through!the!
efforts!of!the!Nabeshima!lords,!the!court!of!Japan’s!shoguns.!!
Hizen!porcelains!also!found!their!way!into!the!palace!of!the!Japanese!
emperor.!Despite!enjoying!limited!political!power!during!the!Edo!period,!the!
emperor!was!the!centre!of!Kyoto’s!courtly!sphere.!The!Tokugawa!shogunate!valued!
imperial!legitimation,!reinstating!the!practice!by!which!successive!shoguns!received!
the!emperor’s!blessing,!and!offering!homage!(and!financial!support)!to!the!imperial!
palace.!Butler!has!suggested!‘The!seventeenth!century!court!…!held!little!in!the!way!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
7!Rousmaniere,!Vessels.!
8!For!discussion,!see:!ibid.,!Chapter!3.!
of!power!and!wealth!…!yet!its!status!and!preeminent!position!in!cultural!terms!were!
equal!or!superior!to!those!it!had!enjoyed!in!1400.’9!For!Butler,!the!court!persisted,!
adapting!to!maintain!a!position!of!relevance!as!the!powerful!warlords!who!sought!
to!unify!Japan!during!the!Sengoku!period!(c.1467–c.1600).!Oda!Nobunaga,!
Hideyoshi!Toyotomi!and!Tokugawa!Ieyasu!all!made!conscious!efforts!to!provide!for!
the!court.10!The!imperial!palace!was!gradually!afforded!the!means!to!rebuild!its!
grandeur,!if!not!its!authority.!Produced!from!around!1700!for!a!court!reaping!the!
financial!reward!of!complicity!with!the!dominant!military,!the!ceramics!discussed!
here!represent!a!new!imperial!material!culture.!!
While!porcelain!vessels!presented!to!the!shogun!by!Nabeshima!lords!have!
long!drawn!attention,!the!history!of!these!imperial!vessels!has!only!recently!been!
explored.!With!current!research!focused!upon!excavated!materials,!a!few!handed!
down!pieces!and!historical!records,!there!are!other!collections!to!be!brought!into!
these!discussions.!Building!on!the!existing!scholarship,!this!first!part!of!the!chapter!
defines!kinri)goyōtōki)and!draws!comparisons!with!Nabeshima!ceramics.!A!new!
element!of!the!material!culture!of!the!imperial!court,!these!were!nonetheless!
conservative!objects!that!formed!links!with!the!past,!while!in!their!use!they!helped!
to!forge!relationships!in!the!present.!
Uncovering(an(imperial(past(
Research!into!EdoOperiod!imperial!ceramics!has!been!stimulated!by!recent!
archaeological!excavations.!Between!1997!and!2002,!the!Kyoto!City!Archaeological!
Research!Institute!excavated!an!area!of!14,687m2!within!the!Kyoto!Gyoen:!the!
garden!surrounding!the!Imperial!Palace!in!Kyoto!(hereafter!Gosho).11!During!the!
Edo!period,!court!nobles!occupied!the!area,!but!it!fell!into!disrepair!following!the!
removal!of!emperor!and!court!to!Tokyo!at!the!beginning!of!the!Meiji!era.!When!the!
Meiji!Emperor!visited!Kyoto!in!1877,!he!was!shocked!by!conditions.12!Thereafter,!
the!Gosho!was!repaired,!the!ruined!noble!residences!demolished!and!a!park!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
9!Butler,!Emperor)and)Aristocracy,!3.!
10!Ibid.,!144–53.!
11!KyōtoOshi!Maizōbunkazai!Kenkyūjo,!ed.,!Heiankyō)sakyō)hokuhen)shibō!(Kyoto:!KyōtoOshi!
Maizōbunkazai!Kenkyūjo,!2004).!
12!Keene,!Emperor)of)Japan,!780.!
established.!Largely!protected!from!development,!only!minor!excavations!were!
subsequently!undertaken!in!the!area!surrounding!the!palace.!The!recent!
excavations!took!place!in!advance!of!the!construction!of!the!Kyoto!State!
Guesthouse.!!
Uncovering!a!unique!site!in!Japan’s!historic!capital,!the!Guesthouse!
excavations!held!the!potential!to!shed!new!light!on!the!lives!of!Kyoto’s!courtly!elite!
and!the!palace!itself.!The!excavated!area!lay!east!of!the!extant!Gosho,!and!north!of!
the!site!of!the!Sentō!Gosho,!built!in!1630!for!the!retirement!of!Emperor!Gomizunō!
but!destroyed!by!fire!in!1854.!During!the!Edo!period,!the!area!between!these!
palaces!was!filled!with!noble!residences!(Figure(2.2).13!The!site!yielded!more!than!
7000!boxes!of!excavated!materials!dating!from!the!Early!Modern!period!onwards,!
of!which!porcelain!formed!a!significant!component.14!Historically!documented!
conflagrations!in!1671,!1708!and!1788,!and!comparative!studies!were!used!to!date!
finds.!A!number!of!porcelain!dishes!and!tea!bowls!decorated!in!underglaze!blue!
with!the!chrysanthemum!crest!of!the!imperial!family!(Figure(2.3)!were!recovered!
from!contexts!dated!to!the!second!half!of!the!eighteenth!century,!with!similar!
dishes!and!bowls,!fewer!in!number,!found!in!contexts!dated!to!the!late!seventeenth!
to!early!eighteenth!century.15!!
Prior!to!the!Kyoto!excavations,!porcelain!and!stoneware!vessels!decorated!
with!imperial!chrysanthemum!crests!were!known!from!public!and!private!
collections.!Handed!down!through!the!generations,!many!of!these!objects!have!
been!preserved!as!single!pieces.!In!contrast,!the!quantity!of!ceramics!recovered!by!
the!Kyoto!City!Archaeological!Research!Institute!and!accompanying!contextual!data!
served!as!a!catalyst!for!new!research.!However,!another!potentially!vital!resource!in!
understanding!the!history!of!imperial!ceramics!has!been!largely!overlooked.!The!
Gosho!and!Sentō!Gosho!were!not!the!only!palaces!in!the!Edo!period.!Although!not!
the!residences!of!emperors,!clustered!around!Kyoto!are!Buddhist!temples!termed!
monzeki!and!amamonzeki:)monasteries!and!nunneries!where!members!of!the!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
13!For!the!history!of!the!noble!residential!area,!see:!KyōtoOshi,!ed.,!Heiankyō,!2:!Chapter!7.!
14!Nōshiba!Tsutomu,!‘Kyōto!kuge!yashiki!no!Hizenkei!tōjiki!ni!tsuite,’!in!Juyōsō)no)chigai)ni)yoru) Kyūshū)tōji)no)yōsō)ed.!Kyūshū!Kinsei!Tōji!Gakkai!([Japan]:!Kyūshū!Kinsei!Tōji!Gakkai,!2004),!13.!
15!Ibid.,!17,!25–26.!
imperial!family!and!high!nobility!once!served!as!abbot!or!abbess.16!Only!
occasionally!open!to!the!public,!a!recent!exhibition!of!artworks!from!amamonzeki!at!
the!University!Art!Museum,!Tokyo!University!of!the!Arts,!described!theirs!as!‘A!
hidden!heritage.’17!In!contrast!to!the!isolated!objects!typically!preserved!as!
heirlooms,)a!survey!of!collections!at!the!amamonzeki!Reikanji!revealed!more!than!
seventy!examples!of!imperial!ceramics,!including!many!sets.18!
The!amamonzeki!were!‘centers!of!learning,!spiritual!discipline!and!worship,’!
but!also!‘small!aristocratic!courts!where!the!customs!and!language!of!imperial!
circles!were!maintained.’19!Benefitting!from!imperial!patronage!and!gifts,!these!
temples!participated!in!the!dayOtoOday!material!culture!of!the!court!as!practiced!by!
their!tonsured!imperial!initiates.!Known!as!‘the!palace!of!the!valley’,!Reikanji!(Figure(
2.4)!is!one!of!thirteen!surviving!amamonzeki.!The!temple’s!first!abbess!was!Tari!no!
Miya,!daughter!of!Emperor!Gomizunō!(r.1611–1629);!the!second!abbess!was!a!
daughter!of!Emperor!Gosai!(r.1654–1663).20!With!close!imperial!connections,!the!
collections!at!Reikanji!offer!a!rare!insight!into!the!material!culture!of!the!extended!
court.!A!survey!of!ceramics!revealed!72!pieces!that!may!be!termed!kinri)goyōtōki) and!a!further!46!of!similar!ware!and!style,!but!without!a!chrysanthemum!crest.!
Preserved!in!sets!and!multiples,!these!objects!further!enliven!the!discussion!of!
imperial!ceramics!helping!to!build!a!picture!of!both!the!nature!of!kinri!ceramics!and!
the!networks!in!which!they!operated.!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
16!I!am!indebted!to!Professor!Oka!Yoshiko!for!guiding!my!research!in!this!direction.!!
17!Barbara!Ruch,!‘A!Hidden!Heritage:!The!Story!of!an!Exhibition’!in!Amamonzeki)jiin)no)sekai:)Miko:
tachi)no)shinkō)to)gosho)bunka,!eds.!Medieval!Japanese!Studies!Institute!et!al.!([Japan]:!Sankei!
Shinbunsha,!2009),!14.!
18!Details!of!objects!surveyed!are!appended:!Surveys!2.!For!a!summary,!see:!Oka!Yoshiko,!‘Reikanji!
monzeki!shozō!no!tōjiki,’!in!Nihon)no)shūkyō)to)jendā)no)kenkyū:)Kinsei)shakai)ni)okeru)nisō)to) amadera)no)yakuwari,!ed.!Oka!Yoshiko!(Nishinomiya:!Oka!Yoshiko!/!Otemae!Daigaku:!2013).!
19!Ruch,!‘Hidden!Heritage,’!14.!
20!For!a!summary!of!Reikanji’s!history,!see:!Patricia!Fister!and!Hanafusa!Miki,!‘Convent!Histories’!in!
Amamonzeki)jiin)no)sekai:)Miko:tachi)no)shinkō)to)gosho)bunka,!eds.!Medieval!Japanese!Studies!
Institute!et!al.!([Japan]:!Sankei!Shinbunsha,!2009),!370.!
Defining(kinri%goyōtōki(
The!literature!on!kinri)goyōtōki!is!almost!exclusively!in!Japanese,!and!the!
expression!requires!some!explanation.21!Terms!for!Japanese!ceramic!wares!are!
variously!derived!from!production!sites!(Kyoto,!Seto),!technique!and!materials!
(tenmoku),!makers!(Ninsei,!Kakiemon),!or!even!key!figures!involved!in!their!
development!(Oribe,!Nabeshima),!but!kinri)goyōtōki)sits!uneasily!among!this!group!
as!it!is!does!not!denote!a!single!type!of!ware.!Tōki)are!ceramics,!goyō!indicates!elite!
use!or!order!(here!imperial),!while!kinri!denotes!the!palace.!In!this!way,!the!
ceramics!known!as!kinri)goyōtōki)(hereafter!kinri)!are!defined!first!and!foremost!by!
their!consumer:!the!imperial!palace.!!
Just!as!this!thesis!encompasses!ceramics!made!in!Europe!and!Japan,!of!
porcelain!and!bone!china,!the!ceramics!classed!as!kinri)goyōtōki)(here!described!as!
kinri)!were!not!made!in!one!location,!nor!are!they!of!uniform!materials.!Two!
principal!groups!can!be!identified:!porcelain!vessels!decorated!in!underglaze!blue!
principally!made!in!Hizen!(Figure(2.3),!and!stoneware!vessels!decorated!in!
underglaze!blue!and!red!iron!oxide!made!in!Kyoto!(Figure(2.5).!Both!groups!
comprise!vessels!used!in!daily!life:!tableware,!smoking!accessories,!tea!wares,!
braziers!and!accessories!for!taking!medicines.!However,!there!is!limited!overlap!
between!porcelain!and!stoneware!forms.!The!kinri)porcelains!predominantly!
comprise!dishes!and!lidded!boxes!for!food!and!smoking!accessories,!while!the!Kyoto!
kinri)wares!include!tea!vessels,!medicine!cups!and!kettles.!In!the!Kyoto!excavations,!
both!were!recovered!from!the!same!archaeological!contexts.!The!two!are!also!
found!alongside!each!other!in!the!collections!of!former!imperial!nunnery,!Reikanji.!
Complementary!in!their!use!rather!than!mutually!exclusive,!their!characteristics,!
however,!are!quite!different.!
Decorated!exclusively!in!underglaze!blue,!the!majority!of!the!EdoOperiod!
kinri)porcelain!vessels!are!now!believed!to!have!been!made!in!the!town!of!Arita!in!
the!former!Hizen!province.!Typically!bereft!of!makers’!marks,!during!the!twentieth!
century!some!scholars!attributed!these!objects!to!the!Kiyomizu!kilns!in!Kyoto,!or!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
21!Within!the!Japanese!literature!use!of!this!term!is!not!yet!consistent.!Variations!include!the!more!
general!kinri)goyōhin:!‘goods!for!imperial!use’!and!kinri)chūmonhin:!‘articles!ordered!by!the!palace,’) which!may!apply!to!objects!in!all!media.!Denoting!ceramics!specifically,!here!I!use!kinri)goyōtōki.!
Kyushu’s!Hirado!kilns,!but!historical!sources!have!helped!cement!the!Arita!
attribution!in!recent!years.22!Ōhashi!studied!early!kinri)porcelains!excavated!from!
contexts!related!to!the!1708!and!1788!fires,!his!observations!revealing!the!
relationship!between!these!objects!and!contemporary!Hizen!production.!He!noted!
that!the!porcelain!and!cobalt!were!the!highest!quality!used!in!Arita,!but!while!
typical!Arita!wares!would!have!a!ring!or!mark!within!the!footring!no!such!markings!
were!made!on!the!kinri)dishes:!a!characteristic!also!found!on!Nabeshima!wares!
presented!to!the!shogunate!(Figure(2.6).!The!reverse!of!dishes,!Ōhashi!observed,!
was!decorated!with!a!flowering!karakusa)or!arabesque,!but!unlike!typical!Arita!
arabesque!motifs,!it!was!drawn!in!outline!and!filled!rather!than!being!executed!as!a!
single!line.)Lastly,!the!central!well!of!each!dish!was!left!blank,!enclosed!by!a!blue!
circle;!designs!of!this!style!peaked!in!Arita!around!the!1690s!(Figure(2.7),!suggesting!
that!it!may!have!been!around!this!time!that!Arita!kinri)ceramics!were!created.23! From!Ōhashi’s!expert!observations,!it!is!clear!that!kinri)ceramics!were!among!the!
highest!quality!Arita!wares,!sharing!certain!design!features!with!the!Nabeshima!
wares!crafted!for!presentation!to!the!shogun.!!
The!designs!painted!onto!the!surface!of!the!porcelain!kinri)ceramics!employ!
diverse!motifs!within!a!structured!format.!On!the!walls!of!bowls!and!in!the!borders!
of!dishes!three!types!of!motif!are!typically!used:!crests,!repeating!patterns!and!
scattered!motifs.!The!crests!are,!by!definition!for!kinri,!variations!of!the!imperial!
chrysanthemum!crest!(typically!two!layers!of!sixteen!petals),!though!other!crests!
can!be!found!as!discussed!below.!Repeating!patterns!include!tortoiseshell,!
chequerboard,!pine!bark,!arrowOflights,!lozenges!and!wisteria!(Figure(2.8),!while!
scattered!motifs!range!from!birds!(particularly!cranes!and!phoenix)!to!flowering!
branches!of!cherry,!plum!and!chrysanthemum.24!Finally,!as!noted!above,!the!outer!
branches!of!cherry,!plum!and!chrysanthemum.24!Finally,!as!noted!above,!the!outer!