Saga-kei Okawachi Kiln

Tojinmachi
It is said that there were 180 Koreans who came to the Saga castle town with the Ganabeshima army during the war, or that there were only 30 of them, and no one knows the exact number. , the area around the earthen bridge on the Saga Station Street is said to be the site of their former residence, and the name “Tojinmachi” (Chinese Town) is still used today. the places where groups of Koreans settled at the time, including Karatsu, Hirado and Isahaya, all still have town names such as “Koreatown” or “Koryo-machi” (Koreatown).

Tatsusou Han
There is another theory about the origins of Saga’s Koreatown, and it is said that six years before the first Korean invasion, in 1587, a Korean named Tatsusou Han drifted ashore on the coast of Chikuzen, and four years later, accompanied by the powerful vassal of the Nabeshima clan, Ryuzoji Ieharu (Lord of Isahaya) accompanied by Narimiya Shigeyasu and others, came to live in the town of Saga, and from this point on, this place was called “Tojinmachi”. Thus, for generations, their descendants have served as peddlers of Chinese goods and other goods for the clan, and the history of the family is as follows.

History of the family of peddlers of Chinese goods and other goods for the clan, as follows.
First generation The founder of the religion (the surname is Tatsuna, the name is Sōkichi, the post is the son of the governor of the province of Kansai, and he is skilled at the bow) was born in the place called Rikukawasaki in Chikura, Chikura, in the country of Korea (in the 15th year of the reign of the Emperor Taishō, in the 15th year of the reign of the Emperor Tenshō). In the middle of spring, he led his family to the seashore to fish, but suddenly a big wind and high waves arose occurred, and the fishing boat drifted away in the middle of the ocean. The day had already passed, and they were starving to death when they were saved by the gods, who sent a small whale to the boat. They were able to escape their hunger and overcome the waves, and finally, the seven people, including the master and servant, drifted ashore at Kurosaki in Chikuzen. The fishermen gathered together and frequently helped them to land and eat and cared for them. They gradually escaped danger and then appealed to the chief of the local government, who was deeply moved by their plight and provided them with food and clothing. They were then allowed to stay at the chief’s villa. In the meantime, their relatives and family members died one by one, leaving Soan alone to mourn and weep. At times he would set out his nets, and at other times he would go fishing, trying to distract himself from his sorrows. sometimes casting a line, sometimes setting a net, and sometimes just relaxing and enjoying the scenery. In the 19th year of the Tenshou era (1592), a fisherman named Taizo went to Dazaifu to pray for his safety, and at this time, the lord of Hizen, Ryuzoji, and his retainer, Ryuzoji Shichirozaemon, came to visit him. On the occasion of his return to Osaka, he was summoned to the castle and received with great honor. He was given clothes and a folding fan, and was granted an audience with Lord Naoshige. I have the honor of being granted an audience with you, and I have also been granted the honor of being received by the various officials who have come to your residence. I have been granted the honor of being received by you, and I have also been granted the honor of being received by the various officials who have come to your residence. I have been granted the honor of being received by you, and I have also been granted the honor of being received by the various officials who have come to your residence. I have been granted the honor of being received by you, and I have also been granted the honor of being received by the various officials who have come to your residence. I have been granted the honor of being received by you, and I have also been granted the honor of being received by the various officials who have come to your residence. I have been granted the honor of being received by you, and I have also been granted the honor of being received by the various officials who have come to your residence. I have been granted the honor of being received by you, and I I will send you a map showing the strengths and weaknesses of the people of the eight provinces of Chosun, as well as the ease or difficulty of travel by land and sea. Do you have parents and children in your own country? Do you have any hope of returning home? I have heard that your mother passed away before you could provide for your wife and child, and that you are now drifting far out to sea, unable to return home. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray that you will have mercy on me and allow me to return to my homeland. I pray the military council was difficult to carry out, and I was unable to attend to the various affairs of state in that land. I humbly request that you reward me for my service with your heart and soul, and that you grant me the honor of serving you.
After that, I was summoned to attend the military council on a regular basis. there are many things that I would like to ask you about, so I will continue to report to you. In particular, I would like to ask you to approve the maps of the eight provinces of Korea. I will report to you on the mountains, rivers, and other details of the eight provinces.
Regarding the wearing of hakama (Japanese formal trousers), As I have been asked to wear a hakama, I have received one from the housekeeper and another from the head of the household, and I will wear them when I go to work. As I have been asked to be employed, I will call myself Kiyozo Kawasaki, using my surname as my given name.
The following is a letter from the 3rd of the 1st month of the 3rd year of Bunroku March 1st, 1864, on the occasion of the departure of the expeditionary force to Korea, I was ordered to go on horseback from March 20th, and I boarded the ship on the 19th. I am now close to the main ship of the expeditionary force, and I have been summoned to be close to you day and night, and even when you were on the ship to Joseon, I was still inquiring about you. I sincerely pray that you will be happy.
I will be at your service when you set off. I will be at your service with a bow and arrow, a sword, and a halberd.
In late March, we arrived at Busan in Joseon Busan Haeundae Jukdo Island in the late month of the same year. The five great generals of Gyeongsang Province defended the island, and in accordance with the orders of the king, they set fire to the island and killed all the enemy soldiers. bloody battle, there are many things that are needed in the army, and sometimes we will offer them to the enemy or sell them to merchants, and we will sneak into the enemy’s castle and take whatever we can, including the strength of the enemy’s army, the amount of their provisions, and their weapons and ammunition.
January 1604 The shogun’s red seal has arrived. The various armies of Japan
have been summoned home, and so I will be returning to serve you.
I have heard that many of the lords have fallen ill or died, and I am deeply concerned for them. I have been ordered to return to the army, and I have received this order in secret.
Ichimonroku Gohi Shinshin Due to the failure of the Japanese peace negotiations, a large army was sent to Korea. as you are not familiar with the area, I have been asked to accompany you on your various errands. I will do my best to serve you faithfully.
Attached is a copy of the letter and in the second year of the Keicho era, in the first month of the year of the rooster, he crossed the sea without delay and entered the castle at Kinkai, Chikushima, and Changwon.
He also visited Ichijyo-sama visited the island again in March, when he was summoned by the shogun, and returned to Japan in July. In July, he met his father and son at the castle in Changwon on Takeshima, and they all enjoyed each other’s company. As you have requested, I have made a special offering of a Chinese-style tea set. I have also made a request to inquire about the method of making a single piece of pottery, and I have respectfully submitted my request. As you have requested, I have made a special offering of a Chinese-style tea set. I have also made a request to inquire about the method of making a single piece of pottery, and I have respectfully submitted my request.
As you have requested, I have made a special offering of a Chinese-style tea set. , and since the languages of Japan and Korea are similar, we will change the Japanese clothes to the clothes of that country, and we will use the clothes made in that country. We will sell the goods that are used in the castles and in the army. We will not go into the details of the enemy’s plans. We will report on the number of soldiers, the strength of the army, the amount of provisions, and other things. and other estimates, I will report directly as you have ordered. I have been able to sneak into the enemy’s side during the battles at various places, such as at Karatsu (Kouzu?), Karayama, Ulsan, and other places, and have been able to see and hear everything to my heart’s content. However, since I am wearing clothes made in the Tang style, which are said to be the language of Chosun, there are no merchants from that country who have come to see me. there were many people from various families who were captured and killed. In particular, when the Japanese were inside the city during the siege of Nanjing, they were accused of being spies by the Ming general Li Yinan, and they were interrogated and imprisoned for several days. I have heard that you are investigating the matter and that you are considering the possibility of executing him. If that is the case, I would like you to take him to the guardhouse and have him executed immediately.
I have heard that the illness of the Lord Oda passed away, and at the time of his return to the battlefield in December 1608, hundreds of pirate ships were dispersed and defeated. In December, I arrived in Hakata, Chikuzen, and then went straight to Osaka, where I served you. I would like to express my gratitude for the opportunity to see Osaka, Kyoto and other places for the first time.
In April 1607, I was given leave of absence and I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at the place where you are currently living. I have been ordered to stay at I will take care of all the domestic and foreign goods and foreign goods, and I will continue to serve my descendants so that they will prosper. I will take your seal and make a copy of it, and I will present it to you.
From the town of Tojin-machi, I will live in the town of Tojin-machi I have been entrusted with the task of announcing that you have been faithful to your duty and have shown your loyalty to the Korean army during the war in Korea. I would like to express my gratitude for your kind consideration and for the honor of being entrusted with this task. I will also be serving you with the tea ceremony, as I have done in the past, and I will continue to do so in the future.
As I have written before, I will continue to serve you with the tea ceremony　As for the ceremony of making pottery, I have submitted a report, and I have decided to return to the camp. Therefore, I would like to ask you to make a pottery for the country, and to make it in the mountain. Therefore, I have heard that there is no way to buy the right kind of workmen, so I have asked the people of Kichiu to send me eight skilled craftsmen from the Nankin area to come to Japan and stay here permanently. I have asked them to show me the various methods of making pottery, and I have asked them to try out the different types of clay found in the mountains of Japan. After the first trial firing of the Arita-sara-yama clay, which was the finest in Mikuni, it became the most valuable product in the country. One of the potters, in particular, was so successful that he was able to move to the Kumayama area. As the basic method of making pottery in the area was brought over from Korea by the potters who came over with Soan, it became a famous product in Japan. became a famous product of Japan. After careful consideration of the history of the product, the family of the craftsmen was given the title of “Chinshike” in 1611, and they were entrusted with the task of selling pottery and porcelain in the city. As for the matter of the seal of the favor of the high favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor of the favor In the year 1638, when the army was dispatched to conquer the Christians in the area around Hara, I was ordered to go to the battle site. At that time, I was hit in the chest by an arrow from the enemy, but the mirror I was carrying was in my pocket, and the arrow hit the mirror instead. I will burn the mirror and throw it away at the battle site. I will follow the usual custom of using the mirror as a charm to protect the arrowhead.
When you are at the castle, I will come to see you. I will also receive the food. In September of the fourth year of Bunka, I would like to see the Noh play that was performed at the time of the festival. I have received a notice from Mr. Shozo Fukuda, who is in charge of the festival, that I will be able to see the performance as usual. Therefore, I would like to respectfully request that you do not send out the rice, as it is not appropriate for the season.
The year after the previous year, there was a Noh performance I will also be observing the usual New Year’s and New Year’s visit rituals, and I will be offering the customary gift of sake. As for the tea ceremony, I will be sending a gift of tea, but as the fifth generation Kanshiro has not yet come to Japan, I will be sending three folding fans instead. fan, and then the ceremony of making a white paper fan from white hemp (the material used to make the paper) is performed. The three fans are then presented to the audience.
When the audience has finished looking at the fans, the items used in the ceremony are returned to the person in charge. If you call one person to help, two people will be sent to help with miscellaneous tasks at the inn. Also, two people will be sent to carry the luggage.
In the first year of the Kansei era, when the Shogun visited, the work was entrusted to the 7th generation Kanyu Kumon, and he continued to serve in various capacities when he was summoned to the capital in 1838.
In 1814, when the Matsubara Shrine was rebuilt reconstruction, we humbly request that you bestow upon us a golden water basin as a token of your favor. We humbly request that you bestow upon us a guardian deity to protect us. Of course, we have always been aware of the history of our family and its lineage , I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances at the time. In particular, I will inform you of the circumstances the main residence and the outbuildings were destroyed by fire. The outbuildings were close to the source of the fire, and the various goods used by the various government offices were bought up by the merchants and stored there. Unfortunately, due to the fire, the outbuildings were destroyed by fire. there are several houses between them, so we are still in the process of clearing up the burnt-out house. Suddenly the wind changed direction and the fire spread to the main house, and there was nowhere to move the things out of the way. where the fire spread to the goods and tools, and the fire was fierce and spread. I am very sorry that the items were lost or destroyed. I would like to ask for your special consideration and mercy, and I would be grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if you could spare me the trouble of having to work as a servant. I would be very grateful if I have received the following: 203 sheets of paper, 12 pieces of leather armor, 9.5 cm long swords, 3 pieces of armor made of Nanban iron, and 3 pieces of armor made of Korean iron.
When I was leaving for the Korean campaign, I received a charm from the Hachiman Shrine and the Tenmangu Shrine. in a brocade bag/the amulet that I received is hanging on the right side of the same
the clothes that I received from the lord of the manor and the lord of the manor’s retainers, as well as the crest-decorated clothes, folding fan, sake cup, and other various items, are in a long box on the right side of the same
the usual custom of the household goods and Chinese goods shop of the lord of the manor is I will pass on the message that you have been asked to do so.
As for the history of the family, there is a box that has been damaged and soaked. I saw that the 367 Hizen pottery history book was damaged and falling apart, so I quickly copied it onto a board and hung it up. However, as the paper was old and damaged, I was unable to remove it without damaging it, so I copied it as it was I will transcribe it, but the paper has scattered and the characters are illegible, so I am very sorry.
I will train day and night to become a master archer. the same as the items that came over from Korea
I have burned all of my possessions and tools, and I am very sorry for this.
As above.
Kan Shiro, a general store owner, June 1839

According to the above letter of provenance, Sōkan geography of the eight provinces of Korea, and the fact that he was assigned such an important task is an event that should be noted in the history of warfare, but not only has his name never been known before, he was also only given a stipend of 100 mon. And the fact that he was also content with this is truly .
If you visit his grave at Kyōen-ji Temple in the Chinatown area, you will see a stone monument that has been modified to serve as the Kawasaki family grave, and there are about ten of them lined up, covered in ivy and vines. The one on the far right is the monument to Sōkan, and it is inscribed as “Ryōki Sōkan Shinshi” (July 23, 1655), the first year of the Meireki era on July 23rd of the first year of Meireki (1655), and it is written that Ryoki Sōkan was a believer, and next to it is Kōgetsu Kōsen, who was probably his wife.
Next, if you pass through the gate of Matsubara Shrine, on the right side there is a bronze washbasin about 2 shaku 5 sun in diameter, with a small morning glory-shaped bronze washbasin at the bottom, and on it is written “Kawasaki Shiro, a Chinese goods and general store owner, in the year of the tiger, August of the first year of Bunsei (1818)”. There is also a bronze pair of guardian dogs on the side of the stand, there is a list of the names of 33 donors, and among them is the name of the general store owner Shiro, so it is clear that the Kawasaki family was a powerful merchant family at the time.
However, in the aforementioned historical document, the article that the creator of Arita porcelain creator was brought over by Sōkan at the request of Naoshige, etc., there is a great deal of doubt about this, and as an educated person, it is difficult to accept this without reservation. If this theory is different, then the old Arita history history, as well as the documents of the Saga Nabeshima clan and the Taku clan, would all be rendered meaningless.
It is likely that in the past, these kinds of historical records were written by the descendants of the original person would embellish their ancestors’ achievements by adding in other achievements in order to pass them down to future generations, as well as to continue to receive the lords’ hospitality. And the proof of this would be the seals, family trees, such as weapons, were destroyed in a fire in the year XXX, and this has become a cliché.
As for the Koreans who came to Hizen at that time, there are two theories, one that there were many and one that there were few, but the author is inclined to the theory that there were many. If there were few, then should have been a little more hospitable, but even towards Lee Sam-pyeong, who was the first person to make a great contribution to the community, the support was very minimal, and there was a huge difference compared to the way the lords of other clans treated their potters, which is also a good example. Therefore, even with the name of the town of Chōkan, we don’t know if it was named for , but the number of Koreans who were living there must have been considerable.

Kuzan-do Seong
At this time, many Koreans were acting as guides for the Japanese army guiding the way, or supplying provisions and other favors, but they were probably not doing this of their own free will, and many of them were forced to obey the Japanese soldiers’ orders. Among the Koreans who were naturalized in Saga at this time were the father and son, Hayashi Ichinori and Hayashi Eikyu, who were skilled in the medical arts , and there was a man named Kuzan Dōsei who was well-versed in medicine, and who later changed his name to Shōzō Sakumon and started producing habutae calico in the castle town.
Among them was a young boy named Naoshige, who had returned from the city of Jingcheng who later became a calligrapher (along with the Korean monk Jōnin, he was killed in the third year of the Meireki era while attempting to commit suicide with the lord of the domain), was one of them. There were also other craftsmen, such as palanquin bearers, candy makers, and weavers , although the number of potters was not particularly large compared to the total number of people, the clan decided to place a group of seven of them in the area below Mt. Asama in the village of Kanadachi in the Saga district. This distribution was not necessarily limited to potters.
Seeking the elixir of life: Mt. Asama (also known as Mt. (There is a legend that a man named Xulin, who was part of the group led by Jofuku in ancient times, came to this area in search of the elixir of life, and landed at Shinkitakara from the Ariake Sea. (It is unclear what he was looking for here (It is unclear what they were looking for, but there is a medicinal herb called “Hoshin” that belongs to the family of Araliaceae and is a black butterbur). Also, this area is rich in ancient ruins, and there have been cases of finding things like curved jades in ancient burial mounds, and it is a place with a particularly large number of stone arrowheads.
If we assume that the continental tribes came from the Han and Korean areas , it is not an exaggeration to say that places like our own Hizen were the original bases for them from the earliest times. In particular, it is thought that the ancient people lived in the foothills of the mountains such as Sefuri and Tenzan, from the base of Mt. Kusenbu in the area of the present-day Miyaki County. In particular, the area around the base of Mt. Fumoto in Miyaki County, the base of Mt. Asahi Village, Asahi Mountain, Kitamoyasu Village, Uto, Shiraishi, Itabe, Nakatsu Kuma, and Kamimine Village, as well as in the Nakahara Village Uhoriyama area, and in the Sanda River area of Kanzaki County, countless shell middens and earthenware vessels (Yayoi-style pottery) have been excavated, as mentioned in the previous section. And it is not unusual to find relics of ancient peoples from the foot of Mt. it is not unusual to find relics of ancient peoples.

Lamentations of homesickness
As the days passed, the Koreans who had settled here all became homesick, and some of them cried and wailed so much that they could not stop. Naoshige pitied them, and sent someone from the clan to write Chinese poetry and is said to have comforted them by sending someone from the clan to be their partner in reciting Chinese poetry.

The Korean Tombs of Kinri
In the fields here, there are two natural stones that are called the Korean Tombs of Kinri. One is inscribed “The Tomb of Kinri, the grandson of King Gong of Joseon, who was a great engineer”, and on the right side it says “Kan’ei 6th year, Kisai Dojo, Teiseimon” (1629) and “Wife and daughter of the same country, Kin, Myojo Zenjo, 8th month, day of the month”. “ and on the right side it says “Kan’ei 6th year, Kisui, Do Seijoumon (1629)” and “Wife and daughter of the same country, Kim, Myou Seijoumon, 8th month, 8th day”. The posthumous Buddhist name of Seijoumon Seijoumon is a Buddhist name that is only given to people of high status in the Zen sect is a posthumous Buddhist name that is only given to those of high status in the Zen sect, or to those who have attained enlightenment through Zen meditation.
The epitaph on the monument to the couple is written in reverse, which means that it was erected before their death in order to pray for their happiness in the afterlife. the epitaph on the monument for the couple states that it was erected in reverse order, so it is likely that it was erected in reverse order before the couple died, and was a tombstone erected to pray for their happiness in the afterlife, or perhaps it was erected by their relatives in their home country, who had gone to live in another place, and who had become followers of the temple here temple, and it is a tomb for a married couple, so it is not a reverse construction of a tomb where the child has died before the parents.

Tosei’s tomb
There is also a theory that the tomb with the characters “Tosei” on it is not the tomb of the Tosei mentioned above There is a theory that this is the grave of the aforementioned Kuzan Dōsei, but this Dōsei died on July 20th, 1651, and his grave is said to be at Kyōen-ji in the aforementioned Tōjin-machi.

The kiln ruins at Kurotsuchihara
As mentioned above, the grandson of King Kōsei and others are given exaggerated posthumous Buddhist names, but in the end it is unclear whether this person was a potter. However, it can be surmised that someone in this group opened a kiln in this area , and if you go to the black earth plain that is said to be the remains of the kiln, which is about eight or nine chō away from the graveyard, you will find a slope at the foot of a mountain that would be suitable for a Korean potter to build a kiln. There is a small structure buried under a persimmon tree at the entrance to the slope, with the top of the structure slightly exposed.
At first glance, it looks about five shaku deep and four shaku wide , and when I asked the old man next door about it, he said that he had used it to burn charcoal in the past, so it is difficult to recognize it as a pottery kiln. Judging from the solid stone structure of the kiln mouth it is not a dolmen, but it is similar to the remains of ancient peoples’ caves, such as those found in Oshima, Karatsu. Furthermore, the hill above this site had a slope that looked like the remains of a kiln. In short, combining various oral traditions, it is certain that there is no doubt that pottery was made here. This is the site of the Sōju-an temple, which was built by the wife of the second lord of the domain, Nabeshima Mitsushige, and it is also close to the hermitage of Yamamoto Tsunetomo, the author of Hagakure.

Reasons for the relocation of the Korean potters
The potters in the group of Koreans mined the black clay at the foot of the nearby Mt. Seonginak and engaged in pottery making, the village headman of Kawayukubo (the village was ruled by the Kamino clan) was worried that this would lead to the depletion of the water supply for logging, and there is a theory that the clan moved the group elsewhere because it was also a disadvantage to be able to see Saka there is a theory that the clan moved this group of people elsewhere because they were worried that the castle would be seen through, but such a reason is very weak and hard to believe. It is clear that there were people other than the potters who there are those who have come to the end of their lives. As for the year on the tombstone mentioned above, the year 1628 (Kan’ei 5) is calculated as the year of arrival in 1598 (Keicho 3), but since 31 years have already passed since then, it is possible to estimate the approximate date.

The two pieces from Nanten-chaya
Now, as old pottery, there are in Nanten-chaya , a vase in the shape of a single-handled bowl with a twelve- or thirteen-layered carved pattern (2.4 cm high, 6.5 cm in diameter at the mouth, 3.15 cm in diameter at the body, with a dark yellow glaze and speckles) is seen, and there is a tea pot with a dark yellow glaze and four sides with attached handles and attached ears (1.25 cm high, 2.5 cm in diameter at the mouth, 3.4 cm in diameter at the body) 1 shaku 2 sun 5 bu, mouth diameter 2 sun 5 bu, body circumference 3 shaku 4 sun) appears to have been made at the same time as the vase, and it looks as if the glaze from the tea pot was splashed onto the vase when it was being glazed. These two pieces are the kind of things that many researchers consider to be relics of the Kurotsuchi are considered to be relics of the Hara ware, but the style is too well-matched, and I cannot help but hesitate to declare that they are short-lived kiln works.

A Hara ware vessel with a rough sand glaze
Therefore, I searched for other pieces I found a plate about 12 cm in diameter that had been excavated from a Korean tomb. It was made of a blue-gray clay body with no glaze, and the rough surface was made of a mixture of sand and clay. is a round-bottomed, unglazed, hand-made earthenware vessel that has been fired to a relatively high hardness.
This earthenware is the opposite of the Nanten-chaya ware mentioned above contrary to the above-mentioned Nanten-chaya ware, it is a very crude product, and it is the most primitive product of the Hizen old kilns that we have discovered in the mountains this time. There is a possibility that this mound is not the remains of the aboriginal people mentioned above. However, after that, we heard that the works made in the middle of this area, such as the plates and bowls made with the usual gray-glazed and candy-glazed plates and bowls, etc., were excavated from this place, and I nodded in agreement.

Naritomi Yajirobe
Naritomi Yajirobe (the father of the current Koshitaro) came to Kurotsuchi Naritomi Yajirobe (the father of the present Koshitaro) came to Kurotsuchihara from the domain around the year 1877, and with the aim of providing employment for the former samurai, he planned a new pottery business based on the long-established Kurotsuchihara pottery tradition attached a business estimate to the application and submitted it to the relevant authorities, but the plan was eventually abandoned because the production of ceramics was considered too far-fetched for the industrial activities of the samurai.
Returning to the original description, the Korean potters in this area than the reasons given above, it would be more appropriate to see that the Korean potters here left of their own accord in order to seek good clay in other places. Some say that they moved to the neighboring village of Kawakubo and opened a kiln there . However, as mentioned in the previous section, the products of Kawakubo are half-porcelain that were established in the Genroku period, and are already Japanese-style pottery that have reached a mature stage of refinement.

Fujinogawachi Theory
According to traditional history, the clan had relocated Korean potters and others to Fujinogawachi in Matsuura County (now part of Nishimatsuura County, Matsuura Village, Yamagata, formerly part of the Karatsu and Gokanbe domains). It is said that this area was the location of the Nagoya pottery kilns under the orders of Hideyoshi , the second son of Ienaga Hikosaburo, who was in charge of the Nagoya pottery kilns, moved from Takagise and began making pottery here. At this time, we will be publishing some articles about Hikosaburo.

About Ienaga Hoshina
Ienaga Hikosaburo Hoshina, a potter from Takagise Village in Saga County, Hikosaburo Katachika, a potter from Takagise-mura, Saga-gun, followed Naoshige during the Korean campaign and returned with him in 1596, but on the way back he discovered a potter called Hakuo among the prisoners of war and brought him back with him.

Intercession by Masuda Nagamori
One day, Masuda Nagamori, one of the five commissioners, (Lord of Koriyama Castle in Yamato Province, with a stipend of 200,000 koku) came to see it and greatly admired it, and Hideyoshi also came to see it in person. As it happened to be lunchtime, the lord ordered his subordinates to make a lunch box, and then served it on a beautiful tray that he had made himself. It is said that this greatly pleased Hideyoshi.
As a result of Nagamori’s intervention, Hideyoshi ordered him to make various tea utensils, and at the same time he also sent them to Tokugawa Ieyasu, Maeda Toshiie, Mori Terumoto, etc. From this point on, the name of Nagoya Castle’s Nakatomi was highly praised , he was prevented from traveling to the second battle, and he produced utensils for Hideyoshi and the other generals, and on the way he obtained a red seal that should be the head of the Hizen pottery makers. I think that this pottery was first made by Hanaoka , and Hōshin studied it a great deal with Haku, and I think he must have obtained the true meaning of the production technique.

Invited by Tanaka Yoshimasa
In the 9th year of Keichō (1604) ) was granted the fief of Chikugo (the ruler of Yanagawa Castle) and, at the request of Naoshige, he invited Hōchō to his domain and had him open a pottery. However, not long after this, Ieyasu ordered Naoshige to to have Hōchika make tea utensils for the Nago Castle at the time, Hōchika’s father was recalled and returned to Takagise, and it was decided that he would make the utensils and present them to Ieyasu.

Yanagawa Hōraku
In later years, when Hōchika retired and handed over the post of Hizen pottery master to his younger brother Ukyōno and his younger brother Ukyo no Suke, he heard that they had retired and handed over the post of Hizen pottery master to their son, and so he invited Hatano Masachika to become the pottery master of Chikugo and settled him in the village of Kamachi in the Mima district, where he began to make earthenware. This is known as the origin of Yanagawa ware. The following is a brief family tree of the Ienaga family.

Ienaga Brief family tree: Descendant of the Ena clan, rulers of Ena County in Mino Province
Hikozaburo I, the first generation, settled in Yanagawa
Hikozaburo II, the second generation, settled in Takagi
Hikozaburo III, the third generation, settled in Fujinogawauchi
Hikozaburo IV, the fourth generation, settled in Fujinogawauchi
Hikozaburo V, the fifth generation, settled in Fujinogawauchi
Hikozaburo VI, the sixth generation, settled in Fujinogawauchi Hanzaburo
Hanzaburo
Hanzaburo
Hanzaburo
Hanzaburo

Keian’s rice ball
Regarding the incident of the rice ball mentioned above , the incident of the rice balls made by Taiko and Keidani (the eldest daughter of Tatsuzoji Toshikazu, the mother of Takayoshi and the stepmother of Naoshige, who died on the first day of the third month of the fifth year of Keicho (1600) at the age of 92 ) and the red seal of the Takagi-juku earthenware making, are described in the Hagakure as follows.

The place where the Lord Toyotomi was staying at Nagoya. The name of the ferry at the mouth of the Kawakami River was called the Nagoya ferry because it was the ferry used at that time. According to the stories of those who were there to see the event, the Lord Toyotomi was a small man with a face that was red like a large amount of red pigment had been applied to it, and his hands and feet were also red. was red like he had put on a lot of rouge, and his face, hands and feet were red, and he was wearing a gorgeous outfit and had on a pair of “Asoban” (a type of sandals, shaped like a horse’s shoe, that reach halfway up the wearer’s foot), and he was holding a sword with a red sheath and gold , and a sword with a red sheath and gold fittings was also tied to the sheath of the sword, and there was not a single person in the entourage who was not riding in a palanquin.
At this time, the Emperor ordered that the doors of the palace be opened and place four bamboo poles in front of the door, and place the rice in earthenware bowls and leave them on the roadside. When the Lord Oda saw them, he said, “This is the work of the widow of Ryuzoji Temple. must be working hard. It is a rare thing to see that even the women are working so hard. The earthenware is something without equal. he was granted a red seal, and it is said that this seal is still in use today (Takagi Dokiya was the second son. The family that possessed the red seal is in Chikugo).
Red seal
The skill of this earthenware is unmatched in Kyushu, and he is the one who can make earthenware for Nagoya.
Red seal on the 26th day of the 10th month of the 20th year of Tensho
Earthenware craftsman, Ienaga Hanzaburo
The above article is included. outside the castle walls, or is it not something that originated from this area? The next red seal of the time was probably given by the leader in a celebratory manner on such an occasion, rather than as a superior examination of ceramic techniques.

The question of the Fujino Doubts about the Kawachi theory
The theory that the second son of the head of the family, Shouemon, moved to the area where Fujino Kawachi was located to make pottery is based on the fact that Fujino Kawachi is located in a valley separated from the village by a mountain, and there is a path from here to Yamagata and Nakanohara, and if you go to the left, you will reach Tei River and Kuragi. as we have already detailed in the Karatsu section, the style of the ware, as well as the geographical location, makes it difficult to attribute the ware to the Ienaga style.

Yamagata Hypothetically
if we were to discuss this, a group of Korean immigrants would become lost in the air and would consequently go missing. However, it is unlikely that they would immediately search for the Momo area and enter the depths of Okawachi. if we consider the geographical situation, it seems reasonable to assume that they settled in the Yamagata area and made pottery there, and then later moved to the remote mountains of Okawachi.
The origins of the Okawachi Koreans are also very unclear. The historical account of Iwami Jutaro is also unclear in its ending. the first half of the life of Hayato Kanesou, who is said to have been a page in Hideyoshi’s service, is also very unclear, so we have combined the above-mentioned biography of Jutaro to see if this is not the continuation of the story or even if it is similar to this writing style, it is assumed that there was no group of Korean people who came to the Yamagata area at first, and then moved on to Okawachi, and there is nothing to do but wait for further research by experts in the future.

Ichinose and Okawachi Ichinose and Okawachi
If we go by the current theory of the passage, it seems that they first opened a kiln in Ichinoseyama and then later moved into Okawachiyama, but according to oral tradition, it seems that the Korean people of Okawachi split off and opened a kiln in Ichinose, and there is no other way to determine this than by comparing the remaining fragments. Okawachi There are old kiln sites in Okawauchi, such as Makino-no-sasaya, Ropponryu (in front of Shorikibo), Gengen-no-tani, Sanbonryu, Gyoekiishi, Nihonryu-ko-yama, and Nihonryu-shin-yama. In Ichinose, the oldest site is Kora-jinja, followed by Hi-no-tani, Ko-yama, Shin-yama, and Higashi-no-tani.

Roppon Yanagi
The ruins of the old kilns at Roppon Yanagi are located on the hillside opposite the front of Shorikibo, and the fragments include dishes with a light green glaze, a light brown glaze, or a gray glaze, which were made using the celadon clay found here. There are also large plates and tea bowls made in the same way. there are also some that can be seen in the products of the previous vessels, and there are both tall and short, thick and thin unglazed footed vessels.

Gongendani in Okawachi
In particular, there are many fragments of this type of ware from the Gongendani kilns, which were very active. there are brown or gray clay bodies, as well as bowls with a white glaze and a light green glaze, and there are also bowls with a dark green glaze and earthenware teapots with a buckwheat-patterned glaze.

Gokei Stone
The old ware of Gokyo-ishi is mostly tea bowls and plates, and generally has a light greenish-yellow glaze with a fine crackle pattern, and at first glance it looks very similar to Awaji ware, and the workmanship is also very good, so it seems to have been made in a later period appears to have been opened in a later period. The foot ring is unglazed, but it is stamped with characters such as the character for “fixed” and other characters in seal script, and the bottom is cut in two stages. There are small plates with landscapes painted in light ink, and some of the egg-colored glaze is thick or thin, giving it an orange color. there are also small bowls with a peach-colored glaze and iron painting.

Sanbonryu
The kiln site of Sanbonryu is a little way up from Kiyomoto, and among the old wares there are unglazed dishes with a thin foot ring and a candy-colored glaze, and there are also tea bowls with a white brush pattern and chrysanthemum or net-like designs. There are also hand-painted willow patterned tea bowls, and there are also celadon incense burners, but the products of later periods are all underglaze blue and white porcelain.

Kiyomoto san
Although we do not know exactly who this Kiyomoto-san is who is enshrined next to him (there is a reference to Kiyomoto-san in the book “Tō no Hara Kiyomoto Uchi” by Ri Sanpei), there are many fine blue and white porcelain pieces with the name “Kiyomoto”, “Kiyomu” or simply “Kansai” inscribed on them, and these can be seen in Minamigawara, Sotobori and Kuromuta. or this Kiyomoto is a local resident of Minamikawara, and when the Nabeshima clan’s kiln was moved from Minamikawara to this location in 1675, or this Kiyomoto may have been a resident of Minamikawara who came to live here around the time that the Nabeshima clan’s kilns were moved from Minamikawara to this location in 1675. If this is the case, then the porcelain was made at the Kiyomoto kilns, and the pottery was made at the kilns of the Koreans who had come before them.
However this Seigen, like someone who deeply believed in Nichiren, the self-scriptures on the rock face here were carved by his hand. Until later years, a temple about the size of six tatami mats was built in front of this place, but it has now already been destroyed.

Gongen Korean Tomb in Gongendani
There is also a Korean tomb in the aforementioned Gongendani, which is a flat stone monument with a roof about five feet high. It is a tomb for a married couple, with the father’s name being Jifu Doshū Rei and the mother’s name being Myōju, and it was erected by their son.

Two Old Kilns Old kilns at Futabayagi
The old kilns at Futabayagi, located below the Senden, are the center of the Okawachi pottery history, and the ruins of the 33-ken kilns used by the domain are piled up here. Although they are fragments of the pottery of the people’s kilns, there are not a few excellent pieces.

New kilns at Futabayagi The new kiln at Nihonryu
A little way from here, there are the remains of a seven or eight-roomed wall at the new kiln at Nihonryu. It is said that this kiln was built 70 years ago, and it was used to fire low-quality sometsuke ware. Among the fragments , there are small plates with chrysanthemum designs and bowls with peony designs, but as much cobalt is used, it is not possible to see the excellent techniques of the old kilns, such as the Goushu-sometsuke and the Kinuta and Tenryuji celadon. this new kiln was closed down after only about 20 years.
The first Korean potters who came to Okawachi discovered a hard, brownish-red speckled celadon glaze at Ropponryu, and they continued to produce celadon and hikireyaki ware while searching for this glaze. it goes without saying that the blue porcelain of this period was applied to fragile pottery. It was not until later that Arita Izumiyama’s raw materials were used as the base material, and his famous Nabeshima blue porcelain was produced.

Roppon Ryuu’s celadon analysis table
Okawachi celadon analysis table
Silicic acid 72.35
Alum 16.34
Iron oxide 1.24
Lime 1.60
Magnesia 0.36
Potassium 3.58
Soda 3.25
Loss on ignition 1.21
Total 9 9.93
The Ainu in the Northern Territories
As for the Han people in Okawachi and Ichinose, it is not known in what direction they moved, but just like the Ainu tribe in the northern territories, they were suppressed by the mainlanders and seem to have been wiped out. after the creation of Arita porcelain, it is likely that many people moved to the Tsutsue and Itano-gawauchi areas, but later many more moved back to Arita-saramayama. However in Okawachi, the domain kilns flourished, and it seems that the descendants of the Korean potters were completely forgotten. In any case, the history of the Okawachi kilns is the history of the Nabeshima domain kilns, and it is also the history of their art. is a branch of the Hidesato lineage of the Dazaifu clan, as shown in the diagram on the left. The Dazaifu clan was the guardian of the provinces of Chikuzen, Hizen, Buzen, Iki and Tsushima. (See the diagram of the Nabeshima family lineage)

The founder of the clan Naoshige dies
On June 3rd, 1618, Naoshige, the first lord of the Nabeshima clan, died at the age of 81. He was born on October 20th, 1538 in Honzan village, Saga county, the second son of Kiyofusa Magoshiro, and was a famous general who was both intelligent and brave. He was also a cousin and brother-in-law of Ryuzoji Takanobu. At the age of 16 in October 1553, he made his first military appearance at the Hasuike Castle of Oda Masamitsu, and in August 1570, he made a surprise attack on the army of Otomo Sorin (Yoshichika) at Imayama, killing Hachiro Chikahide and making a name for himself. In his later years he took part in over fifty battles.
After After his death, the family was granted seven counties within their Hizen fiefdom: Saga, Ogi, Mine, Kanzaki, Kishima, Fujitsu, and Matsuura, while Naoshige was only granted two counties: Yofu (16,000 koku, 487 sho) and Kiiki (91,221 koku, 1,666 sho). However it was his son Katsushige who came to rule over the entire domain, and that is why he is called the first lord and Naoshige is called the founder of the clan.
As such , it seems that his life was devoted to the great task of conquering Kyushu, and although he succeeded to the Ryuzoji estate in later years, he was busy with the many affairs of state, and had no time to try his hand at things like garden-style pottery in the castle grounds , or perhaps he had no interest in pottery making, but when his son Ri Sampei first produced white porcelain, he was given the protection and support of the feudal lord of the Taku clan. In 1902, he was awarded the third rank with special distinction.

Heikichi Shokei
Shokei, a deputy director of the Ministry of Justice, was wounded in the battle against the enemy army in Gyeongsang Province during the Korean campaign led by Naoshige. At that time, he was forced to return to Japan because of his wound. the eight Koreans who had accompanied him were settled in the village of Kase in Saga County, and they worked to procure and transport various weapons and military supplies.

Pottery making in Kase
In later years, he brought clay from the Daiganji temple in Kawakami to Kase, and had the Koreans mentioned above make pots and sake bottles. This was the beginning of what would become the domain kiln, but it was probably on a small scale. Shokei also served as a deputy official in Shichikatsu and owned three residences in Kase. He passed away on May 3rd, 1605.

Kawahara Kawara Koji
It is said that during the Korean campaign, there were Korean potters who came to the Saga castle town and made pottery in Kawara Koji, but now the remains of the kilns have been cleared away and the site is now the Shoukonsha shrine. the question of what happened to the discarded remains and kiln tools still remains.

Excavated items from the west side of the moat Excavated Items
About 24 or 25 years ago, in the garden of Funaki Umanosuke’s house, which was located in the center of the Nishibori area of the city, I found some yam vines in a small grove, so I started digging to collect them, and then a succession of burnt pottery pieces appeared from the ground. Among them there were some very elegant pieces, and there were times when I would want to buy a hundred or so of them, and then sell them on for a thousand or so yen. At the time, we would all be scrambling to buy them, and they would be bought for between ten and fifteen yen each.
Of course were of course only damaged pieces, and it is rare to find the same piece again. The glazes used were candy-colored glaze, chestnut glaze, chestnut-brown glaze, blue-chestnut glaze, light gray glaze, etc., and among these there were some kiln-altered pieces that revealed sea cucumber in the red-brown glaze. The types are generally 24 to 30 cm in height, and many of them are sake bottles or flower vases around 12 to 18 cm in height. All of them are glazed with a tear-drop pattern, and the bottom is left unglazed, but in rare cases, there are also grey-glazed tea bowls with foot rings. In addition, there are not a few sake bottles with raised marks on the back, such as “10” or “3”.
Furthermore, 40 bricks were excavated from this site, but they were not at all materials for building a kiln, and only a few fragments were excavated, and not even a single kiln tool was found, so it is clear that this was not originally a kiln site, and it was probably just thrown away and left there. Therefore I wonder if the remains of the Kawahara Koji kiln mentioned above were not thrown into a moat or something from this area at the time, but there is no documentation to prove this.
This is what is commonly referred to as the Chinoyama-yaki. there are those who say that this Chinoyama ware was made by Koreans who came to Saga and opened a kiln by the Ryutaiji temple in the castle town four hundred years ago. There are also various theories, such as that it was made by the Nakanosato family of Karatsu, but none of these are known for certain. (Chinoyama is the name of a place a short distance down the west moat)

Fukuda Kizaemon
There was a skilled potter from Kyoto called Sukeda Kizaemon, who came to Arita at the end of the Genwa era and learned the local porcelain-making methods, becoming a very accomplished potter. At that time there was also a ronin from Kyoto called Zenbei who was living in Arita at the time, and it is said that the two became sworn brothers after becoming friends. It is probably because they were both from the same region.

Nabeshima The beginning of the Nabeshima clan kilns
Until then, the Nabeshima clan had ordered pottery to be fired in the kilns of Minamikawara, but when they heard that the pottery of Arita’s Soeda Kizaemon was of an excellent quality, they ordered it to be fired in the Saga kilns. In the fifth year of the Kan’ei era (1628), the first feudal lord of the domain, Katsushige, appointed Kikomon as the head of the pottery department, and this was the beginning of the Nabeshima domain’s Goudokuyama kilns.

Kora Koryo Mountain Kiln
was located in Iwayagawachi, Arita, and was the site of the former Korean kilns (now the upper part of the Yukizake Factory). It is likely the products of the time were not that good, as can be seen from the fragments that have been excavated. And the most difficult thing for Kizaemon was the production of celadon porcelain. He dug up the raw materials for celadon from the foot of Mt. Hiei in front of the Izumiyama stone pit and tried using them, but he was very unfamiliar with the manufacturing process. (It is said that this celadon ore was discovered by a certain Korean after the stone pit was discovered.)

Kizaemon employed Gorojiro
One day, Kizaemon went with Zenbei to a place called Samizu (Nakahara Village) in Yobu County to see the local earthenware production, and heard that the famous master of the craft, Gorojiro, was living in Uchiyama in the Fujitsu area at the time. and, having obtained his services, visited Goroshi at Uchinoyama and asked him to come and work for him. In 1630, Goroshi came to the Iwayagawa domain kiln and it was here that the first complete celadon ware was fired. Thus, Kikimori Sakomon was given 10 koku of rice as a reward for his role as the pottery master’s assistant, Zenbei was given a supplementary allowance, and Goroshi was treated as a special guest.

Goroshi leaves ran away.
Kisakomon studied hard with Goroshi, but he never revealed the secret of the celadon glaze to him.
However, at this time at that time, the Christian faith was being strictly examined, and there were rumors that Goroshi was a heretic, so he suddenly left one night with his students Heibei and Sanai, and his retainer Shokichi. This was in In 1633, he went to Shikoku and hid in Tosa, but later returned to his hometown of Osaka, where he is said to have died in 1635 at an advanced age.

The Christian Sect and Korean people
It is unknown whether or not he was a Christian, but he was said to have been a member of the remnant group that remained in Osaka after the fall of the castle, and he was always on his guard, choosing the main gate for all his comings and goings to avoid detection. Furthermore, There is a theory that Goroshi was a Korean, but considering his background and behavior, he was a ronin who was careful about his appearance, and he was someone who did not openly serve the clan, and this is also thought to be the cause of the suspicion.
Anyway, While the creation of white porcelain in Japan was attempted only by the hands of Koreans, even if many hints were obtained, the fact that he succeeded in making porcelain in a short time at that time should prove how rare a master Gorosuke was. Furthermore, , the Korean in Tenjin’s Forest succeeded in making white porcelain, but it was as a result of having studied the techniques of Ri Sampei, and this will be discussed in the Arita volume.
Previously, there was a strict ban on entering or leaving Gorosichi’s workshop, but when he ran away, he threw away all the tools of the factory into the valley without a trace. Later, Kizaemon Kizaemon and Zenbei collected the pieces together and, after much research, finally mastered the celadon glaze. From this point on, Kizaemon was given 15 koku of rice and a separate clerk was placed under him, and Zenbei became the supervisor of the craftsmen.

And although , despite having the skills to be praised as a rare engineer, still abandoned his tools and refused to pass on his techniques, and there are those who criticize him for being too small-minded. At the time it was common social practice not to disclose secret techniques and methods.
Therefore, when judging Goroichi, we should take into account the spirit of the times and give him a certain amount of leeway.

Arita Pottery Arita
The official kilns of this domain were called “Gosho-yaki” (pronounced “Ojiya-fuyato” in Arita and “Oshiyakuyato” in Okawachi). When the official kilns were fired, a prayer was said, and this was entrusted to the temple of Hokuenji (Nichiren sect) in Arita’s Akaenmachi. From this time on, all other private kilns came to hold their kiln-opening prayers at Hogenji. In this way, the first generation of the Sukeda family, Kizaemon (Nisshin), passed away on October 5th, 1654, in Iwayagawauchi.

Nabeshima Katsushige passes away
On March 24th, 1657 On March 24th, 1657, the first lord of the Nabeshima clan, Nabeshima Katsushige, passed away. He was 78 years old. He was a man of great natural talent and bravery, and, like his father, he was eager to fight in the second invasion of Korea, despite being too young to do so. He fought in the Battle of Togahara , he was part of the Western Army, but he was particularly instrumental in the siege of Shimabara Castle. He was deeply concerned with the development of the country and industry, and he also made great efforts to protect the pottery industry in his domain.

The domain’s kiln was moved to Minamigawara The clan kiln was moved
When Kizaemon Soeda died, his son Kizaemon Kiyosada (also known as Higa Hatsukikichi) succeeded him, and after more than ten years, in the first year of the Kanbun era (1661), the clan kiln was moved to Minamikawara. It is said that as the pottery industry flourished in Arita , as the pottery industry prospered, more and more houses were built, and it became inconvenient to keep the secrets of the clan kilns’ special techniques. At this time, as a farewell gift to the residents of Iwayagawachi, the area of the local communal graveyard was expanded, and permission was granted.
The location of the Kawahara’s workshop is unknown, but judging from the few remaining fragments and the fact that it is next to the Kakiemon kiln, which is famous for its red-glazed ceramics, it is thought that it was not the Kamigama kiln in Togiyama. The second Kiza Koumon died on September 27th, 1667, and his son, Fujijiro Kiyonaga (formerly Nissei, then renamed Fujijie) took over the role.

The clan kiln was moved to Okawachi The clan kiln was moved again
However, as this area was also close to the domains of Omura and Hirado, and in particular, as foreigners were frequently coming and going at the time, after a decade or so, in 1675, it was decided to move it again to Okawachi.
It is thought that the fact that may have been one of the reasons for the move. The third generation Fujijiro died on March 11th, 1678, in Okawachi, and the second son of the first generation, Kizakomon Masanobu (Nisshin), succeeded him and took up the post.

He ordered a prayer hall to be built at Hoshun-ji was ordered to be the place of prayer
and, as the Hogenji temple in Arita was too far away, the Hoshunji temple in Hirao, which was close to Okawachi, was ordered to be the place of prayer for the firing of the kilns of the domain. This temple was built by the fifth generation of the Shingon sect of Buddhism after the retirement of the priest Azon of the Daichiiin temple on Mt. Kurokami.
Okawachi is located about one-and-a-half miles from Imari, and was the castle of Kawahara Sakon no Kami Shigenori, who was descended from a collateral branch of the former Matsuura clan. Nagahiro’s son, Gojiro Ukemon Hirotsugu, and his son, Kugoro Hirokata, succeeded to the land, but after their deaths in the Genwa era, it became state-owned land.

Okawachi quiet scenery
The land is far from the main road, and the back is connected to the Ryumon of Hirose via the Shirakawa Valley in Arita, with the strange peaks of basalt towering over the Kurokami Mountains. If you look to the west , and the waterfall that falls from the mountain peaks that form a screen echoes in the grotto of the Yake Shrine, making it a place of eternal winter. It was not only a good place for quietly contemplating and planning, but also a perfect place to keep the secrets of the domain’s pottery techniques.

Okawachi Craftsmen
A craftsmen’s workshop was built here in Futabayashi, and to keep people coming and going under strict surveillance, a gate was set up at the entrance to the mountain called Oishi, and from this point on, except for those involved in the clan kilns, it was forbidden to pass through. Therefore, even fishmongers or vegetable sellers had to bring their wares to the Oishi barrier gate, and once they had finished, the gatekeeper would close it.
(The Oishi barrier gate was removed to make way for the road reconstruction, but a small section of it remains to this day.
The second generation the second lord of the clan was to be Katsushige’s son, Tadanao, the Lord of Hizen, but he died at the age of 23 while still living in his room (he was posthumously given a title, and his widow remarried his younger brother, Naozumi, the Lord of Kai).

Mitsushige’s encouragement encouragement
When he succeeded his son, Mitsushige, the second generation of Tango no Kami, he greatly encouraged the clan kilns, and issued the following strict orders. It is clear from this book that , the Nabeshima ware of the first few years was clearly a product of repeated failures and painstaking efforts to produce fine wares. (Nabeshima family (From an old document in the Nabeshima family’s archives, dated August 1695, and handed to the Arita Sarayama magistrate)
Letter to the Sarayama magistrate
Determination
One offering and When the matter of the Ookouchi pottery master is brought up, please be sure to inform the elders and those in charge of the gifts. It is important to be thorough and careful. Please do not be too casual about this matter.
If the workers If there are any problems with the actors, please inform the head of the troupe. If there are any problems with the actors, please inform the head of the troupe.

1. Pottery In recent years, it has not been possible to harden the pottery due to circumstances. In particular, if there is a replacement for the items that have been presented or the items that have been sent, please inform us. If there is a large-scale matter, it is not possible to do so. . I will ask the person in charge, Mokubei Soeda and Kisakomon Soeda, to find out the details. If there are any further problems or confusion, please let me know.
   If the pottery is not made is that in recent years, there have been many cases of negligence.
   The first thing is that it is not possible to do otherwise than to make sure that there are no delays. This matter should ultimately be brought to the attention of Mokubei Kizaemon. The first thing is that you should be sure to report any cases of negligence that you come across. . Of course, even after the fact that the inspector’s observations and decisions are not reported, it is clear that there are things that need to be clarified, so please be aware of this and report back to us as often as possible.
   As for the pottery that is presented As the pottery is the same every year, it is not very interesting. However, if there are any items with interesting designs that are made in Wakiyama from time to time, please write a note and send them to us. We will then send them to the elders and those in charge of sending gifts.
   Please send us the finished products Please take a good look at it and make it so that it will be suitable for the times.
   The pottery items that are offered as a gift should not be sold at the Wakayama pottery market. Please make sure that the potters of Wakayama do not go to the Okawachi pottery workshop.
   The leftover items If something is damaged or lost, please do not scatter it around. If there are any elderly people who are in charge of giving gifts, please inform them of this.
   If there are any skilled craftsmen in Wakayama, please inform them of this.
   Even if there are any people who have been working here for some time, please do not give work to any unskilled craftsmen.
   The above rules I will inform the people in charge of the various tasks in detail, and I will ask them to follow the instructions. If there are any problems, please let me know. If there are any instructions that need to be passed on, please let me know.
   August 12th, 1703
   To the Arita Sarayama Magistrate

Arita Magistrate under the direct control of
the Arita-Sarayama magistrate. The first Kizaemon died on November 1st, 1721, and his eldest son, Magosaburo Masaharu (also known as Mokubei), died on August 16th, 1772 at the age of 81. His son, Kenzaburo Masaaki, died on May 11th, 1775, and his son, Magosaburo Masayoshi, died on November 20th, 1805. During the Kanpo era (1741-1744), the Okawachi domain kilns came under the direct control of the Arita Sarayama magistrate, and Magosaburo retired from his position. It is said that he then lived in this area, passing on the kilns to his descendants.

The Three Styles of Arita Ware The Three Styles of Arita Ware
Of the three styles of Arita ware, the Koimari and Kakiemon styles are ultimately nothing more than a kind of imitation of Chinese style with a touch of Dutch, but the Nabeshima ware, which was a unique style of pure Japanese style style, and like ukiyoe, which stood in opposition to the Tosa and Kano schools, the art that laid the foundation for the brilliant Nabeshima ware was devised by whom, even now, is not known.
And , the achievements of the Fukuda family should also be considered great. Although Nabeshima ware reached its peak and was selected as a national treasure in the Genroku and Kyouhou periods, the basic concept had already been conceived long before that time . It is a special and original art that has broken free from the shell of the traditional foreign-style imitation translation art.

Fukuda Separate Lineage
There are some inaccuracies in the Fukuda family tree given above. The following is a separate lineage.
Fukuda Kiza Kumon
Fujijibe
Mokubei, adopted son, actually the son of Tohi Heizaemon
Fujijibe
Hikoroku
Chuzaemon (adopted son of Shimomura Shinnomasa)
Kisakumon
Magosaburo
Matasakumon

Also, the records of the Nabeshima family’s The records of the inner storehouse are as follows.
Fukuda records of the inner storehouse

Repair of Ishii and Ishii Saburo, who are in charge of the inner storehouse, with 6 koku of rice and 5 to of rice
Arrival in 1709: Fukuda Saburo, Kizakomon, 6 koku of rice and 5 to of rice
Shigezaemon of Shikae is still alive
Arrival in 1693: Fukuda Kizakomon
Ichizaemon of Ogawa is still alive Kozanmon
Arrived in 1696: Kozuke Kizaemon
Ishii Kiyozakumon
Arrived in 1656: Kozuke Kizaemon
Family register Nabeshima Utsubo and Uchikata Hikoemon
Arrived in 1702: Kozuke Fujijibe
15 koku Uchii Ishii Koukoumon Group
Arrived in 1702, Sukeda Kizaemon
6 koku 5 to
Ishii Shuri Oku Uchii Ishii Saburozaemon Group
Arrived in 1694, Sukeda Magosaburo
6 koku 5 to
Ezoe Kanjiro Oku Uchida Harugenbei Group
Arrived in 1742 arrived: Magosaburo Soeda
13 koku 5 to of rice, Kaku Kentaro
Chiba Tarosuke, Koshina Arita Konnojo, arrived:
Kaku Kentaro, 7th year of Meiwa
15 koku of rice

If you look at it it seems that the Fukuda family was sent by the feudal clan to work as a director of the workshop, but unlike his deputies and inspectors, the Fukuda family has been appointed to the position for generations, so it is clear that they were the ones who originally recruited the technicians, and according to the traditional theory, they retired in the Kanpo era (1741 -1744), but it is also possible that the rice allowance was continued until the Meiwa period (1764-1772), thirty years later, as a reward for the services of the Sukeda family over the generations, or as a retirement allowance.

Reduction of stipend and restoration reduction
The next thing to note is the reduction in the amount of rice. From the first Kizakomon to the next, Tohei, they were given 15 koku, but the next Kizakomon was given only 6 koku 5 to, which is less than half the amount. When we refer to the handouts given by the previous Kōshige, we wonder if this was due to the poor quality of the pottery at the time, and that the amount was reduced as a result of poor supervision. was the result of poor workmanship, and that the amount was reduced as a result of poor supervision, and that the next person, Magosaburo, was finally given 13 koku and 5 to, and that the next person, Kentaro, was given the original amount of 15 koku again.

A reform based on technical ability Reforms
The products of the clan kilns also showed great progress at this time, reaching the level of red porcelain and seven-handled bowls, etc., but they still aimed for further improvement, and recruited famous craftsmen and encouraged research in various fields. Indeed, even the famous Kakiemon even the celebrated Kakiemon potters, by the 4th or 5th generation, had become inferior in skill, and the tradition of excellence of the first generation had been transferred to the Shibukomon branch. Therefore, at the clan kilns , it was the wise decision of Mitsushige to break with this traditional practice and place the emphasis solely on skill, replacing both managers and artisans with those who excelled in their skills. He also was a reformer who, on July 7th, 1661, strictly forbade the practice of seppuku (ritual suicide) and decreed that any future samurai who committed seppuku would have their family name cut off.

Tsunashige painting
In this way, Mitsushige died on the 16th of the 5th month in the 13th year of Genroku (1700) at the age of 69, and his eldest son Tsunashige succeeded him. The third the third lord of the clan, was called Chitekisa, and was so proficient in painting that he was able to create his own style. From this period, the designs of Nabeshima ware greatly advanced and flourished. He died on December 2, 1706, at the age of 55, and was succeeded by his younger brother, Yoshishiro.
The craftsmen of the The workshop was limited to the production of items for the feudal lord’s personal use, items to be presented to the shogunate, items to be presented to various lords, and items ordered by them, and was prohibited from using them for private use or selling them. every time a piece of pottery was taken in or out of the kiln, it was inspected by the relevant government official, and any wares that were even slightly distorted or had irregular coloring were destroyed and buried in the ground.

The raw materials for the clan kiln careful selection of raw materials
The raw materials used in this production were a mixture of the finest stones from the official mine in the Arita Izumiyama area and a small amount of other stones. all materials were selected with repeated refinement, and only the most skilled craftsmen were chosen, with the result that the products were made with the utmost care and attention to detail, to the extent that the Iro-Nabeshima ware has now been designated as a national treasure, and works of the highest quality have been preserved.
In the There were four officials permanently stationed at the workshop: a county inspector, a lower inspector, a master, and a hand, who were engaged in supervising the workmen as well as accounting and work supervision. At the same time, the workmen were encouraged to fully demonstrate their talents.

Two hundred years of refining
The unique secret methods they studied and the excellent designs they devised were not easily revealed to others, and they were refined for two hundred years, achieving a special kind of development.
Two The number of kilns at Yanagikoto was 33 in a row, and the kiln for the clan was 3 ken (approx. 5.45m) in the middle. This was to regulate the heat and cold of the fire, and it goes without saying that special care was taken in the structure of these 3 ken.

The free firing of the free firing.
In addition, the kilns in the 30-meter radius around the main kiln were made available for free use by the local kilns, and the fuel for them was also provided by the clan kilns. It is clear that the potters of Okawachi at that time were very fortunate.

Reserve Stacking
The most important products were selected from the best of the private kilns near the clan kiln, and the products were stacked as a reserve, with the best of these being selected. were piled in two-shaku-tall lidded bowls. In the kiln, the sixteen people who were in charge of firing the 33 chambers were designated, with ten of these people being the main firing team and the other six being assistants. However, the people from the private kilns also sent teams of laborers to take turns. was because they had a large number of kilns, and it must have been hard to watch them and not feel a sense of gratitude for the fuel and kiln rental.

Craftsmen Examination and Budget
The examination of the craftsmen was also very troublesome. There were eleven potters, four coilers, nine painters, seven assistants, a total of 31 people, and from the inspectors down to the 16 people who fired the kilns, everyone were provided with rice and money by the domain, and they also received a separate bonus for their skills. The total amount of money paid out over the course of the year was calculated to be 300 koku of rice and 1,000 ryou in gold.
All of these artisans were able to live on their wages and food, and without any worries, they were able to devote themselves solely to the advancement of their skills. In addition were found in any of the pottery villages and were taken on as official potters. This was the greatest honor a potter could receive, and even those working at local potteries aspired to join the official potters.

No luck Kamichi
It was said that at the time, all of the 170-odd households in Okawachi-yama were completely exempt from land taxes, including residential land and all arable land, and that they were completely ignored by the clan.

Taxation reform theory
It is said that in later generations, only the private kilns that had stockpiled supplies were supplied with half the cost of firewood, and that all other private kilns had to provide their own fuel. , it is said that those with a special relationship with the craftsmen, such as the land that receives the impact of the water mill here, were exempted from taxation. This was probably the result of reforms due to the financial difficulties of the clan.

The number of products made by the clan kiln products
There were regulations on the number of large plates, small plates and sake cups that the craftsmen had to produce each year, and this was 5,031. once this quota had been completed, the rest of the work was fairly quiet, and there was a separate allowance for other temporary orders. The temporary order forms that have been preserved in the Ichikawa family are all carefully designed, colored in, and accompanied by detailed explanations. Some of them
Temporary copies of the order forms
One stone bowl with white hand-painted white porcelain, height 3 inches, thickness 5/8 inches, length 15/8 inches, foot height 3/4 inches, foot width 1 1/2 inches
One brush stand, ordered by the Empress in the year of the Ox, 1853
All ordered by the same person, the third rank of the Court, lid with a water jug, white porcelain with peony, chrysanthemum, and peach blossoms
One for the lady of the house, incense burner
for the same person as above, brazier, 1 shaku 5 sun deep
with a thick bottom
two, with a very dark design, triangular brazier, blue waves on a white background, for the same person as above

Okawa fuel supply
The supply of fuel was provided by 24 designated pine forests in the county, which were protected and the indiscriminate felling of trees was prohibited. Twelve of these were used for regular annual logging, but another 12 were set aside as a reserve in case of forest fires. the 120-hectare Sanbonyan government-owned forest is licensed for annual logging.

Iro-Nabeshima
There are four types of Nabeshima ware: Iro-Nabeshima, Sometsuke-Nabeshima, Nabeshima Seiji, and Nabeshima Shichikante. Iro-Nabeshima shima is a type of Nabeshima ware with red designs on the underside of the box, similar to the design of some of the Nabeshima blue and white ware, and is called “iro-Nabeshima” for short. there are no Nabeshima ware pieces that have overglaze enamels on a white background, such as the Kakiemon style or the old Imari ware.
The overglaze enamels on Nabeshima ware The overglaze enamels used on Nabeshima ware are limited to three colors: red, blue and yellow, but there are also rare examples that use a light purple over a black background, or what is known as sepia. There are four or five different types of red, and both the light-painted, elegant pieces and the dark-painted, dignified pieces all display a variety of attractive colors. , but all the others are glazed with light-colored glaze. Therefore, through the light-colored glaze, the veins of the grass and leaves and the outlines of the petals of the flowers drawn on the base material appear, creating a soft tone. Some of the pieces are excellent works that combine underglaze blue and celadon.

Patterns on Hannya Ware
The patterns are generally plant-based, with peonies, white Japanese apricots, Japanese apricots, bamboo, young pine trees, daffodils, autumn grasses, thistles, etc. being depicted. Animals are mainly birds, fish and butterflies. There are also jewels and seven treasures, but the most commonly depicted are blue waves, followed by special peonies and arabesque patterns.
Other There are also pictures of the three friends of the year, reeds and wild geese, butterflies, gourd paintings, scroll paintings, landscapes with bridges, landscapes with pavilions, snow landscapes, carp, goldfish, ayu, flower rafts, etc., and the seven-jewel sash of a cat and the helmet arabesque are drawn as if they were printed. are works of beauty that fully demonstrate a decorative beauty that is both realistic and yet also departs from reality.

The Hada ware high-rimmed plates
The majority of the ware produced by the Hagi kilns was tableware, but the high-rimmed plates in particular, with their gently curved, bulging lines, maintain a pleasing harmony with the high rims. These plates were produced in a variety of sizes, from small ones measuring around 3 inches in diameter to large bowls measuring around 14 inches in diameter. glaze on the underside of the bowl was applied with a large brush while the potter was still on the wheel, so there is no glaze pooling around the foot of the bowl. Furthermore, this type of footed bowl was proclaimed to be a national treasure, and it was forbidden to make even bowls of a similar shape.

Comb-toothed footed bowl and young pine cups
This bowl , the comb-shaped pattern is drawn on the high foot of the dish, and the distance between each one of the combs is perfectly even, showing the skill of a true artisan. Also, the high foot of the cup with the young pine design is made of thin paper-like material, and the high foot of the wooden cup is attached. the young pine trees are also lively, and the cranes in flight do not have the heavy-looking appearance of the imitations made in recent times. Also, the thin plates with a border of thorns, a snow circle border, or a peony split shape, with butterflies drawn on them, are also famous products of the clan kilns.

Clan kiln products with overglaze enamels
All The coloring method used for the Gozu ware, which is characterized by its translucent glaze, is such that the thinly diluted Gozu glaze is soaked into the ware from the beginning, and then the thickly diluted glaze is repeatedly applied over the top. As a result, the translucent glaze, which is easily visible, is skillfully finished to the extent that it is completely invisible.

Other works of art technical products
Other technical products include openwork carvings resembling birdcages, candlesticks, and inkstone stands. There are also twisted works featuring plum blossoms, chrysanthemums, chestnuts, loquats, persimmons, peaches, pears, etc. The plum blossoms and chestnut balls are decorated with delicate techniques that make them look exactly like the real thing.

Silky Skin
There is a type of Nabeshima ware called “silky skin”. is a color that cannot be achieved without the use of the difficult-to-fire Arita Izumi clay, and it is a color that is achieved by stopping the flashy sheen of the glaze and firing the clay to bring out a very deep color. It is extremely difficult to fire a piece of pottery to this color, and you have to be prepared for a lot of rejects from the start. it is said that it is a product that can only be made by a daimyo’s hobby.
As such, all of the works are finely crafted with the essence of the technique, and they are refined as daimyo tools, and they show the ultimate in beauty. Indeed this Nabeshima ware is a work of art that deserves to be proud of as living in the wide world, and it is the crowning glory of our Arita ware products.

The Origin of Iro-Nabeshima Origin of Arita Ware
The origin of the colorful designs of Arita ware is not known. The first pieces to be decorated with overglaze enamels were ordered from Kakiyemon, but the style of the decoration was completely different. Since the craftsmen moved to Okawachi, over here, the overglaze enameling was started, and as a result of having no contact with Minamigawara at all, there was a strong request from the Kakiemon family, he was given a special order to make either only some of the underglaze blue and white designs or only some of the brocade designs, but in the end, the current Nabeshima ware was made using a separate stock.
However there are those who argue that the reason why the Ookawachi domain kilns did not produce overglaze enamels is because orders to the Kakiemon kilns ceased in 1685 (the second year of the Jōkyō era) 685) to 1723 (Kyouhou 8), it is too absurd to think that Nabeshima ware completely stopped producing only overglaze enamels for 39 years.

Nabeshima Saving the clan’s expenses
It is well known that at the time, the Nabeshima clan was appointed to the important task of defending Nagasaki against the black ships of foreign countries (alternating with the Chikuzen Kuroda clan), and due to the heavy expenditure involved, the clan implemented a number of reforms to save money. In particular the eighth lord of the domain, Hizen no Kami Harushige, implemented various cost-cutting measures due to the increasing poverty of the domain. The ninth lord, Hizen no Kami Nariyoshi, increased the number of guns at the Nagasaki battery from 11 to 124, which was a huge cost. in August of the 6th year of Bunsei (1825), a system of continuous rice deliveries was established for all clan retainers, and those with a stipend of 1,000 koku or more were ordered to pay 80% of their stipend, and those with a stipend of 50 koku or more were ordered to pay 40% or more.

Arita Order for red-dyed cloth
In order to save money, various arrangements were made in the Meiwa and An’ei periods (1764-1781), and the number of craftsmen was reduced, and the upper part of the hinoki wood was removed , and instead of this, the best of the 16 Arita red-painting workshops were selected and ordered to do the work, or perhaps for some other reason, the work was moved to Arita. Furthermore, as if the number of craftsmen allocated to the workshop had been changed, it is not possible to accept that the aforementioned allocation of 15 people for the two parts of the work was produced by 9 painters up to the final painting.
Even though the domain was in such a state of poverty even though the clan was in such dire straits, as a daimyo of a large clan, it was necessary to make offerings to the shogunate and to other clans, and especially as the lord of the clan that produced the only white porcelain in Japan, it was unavoidable that the daimyo would have to eat the food of the common people, even if it was not of the highest quality. it goes without saying that the fact that these artistic products were continued even in such poverty, with the hope of leaving them as the essence of Japanese production, is something that should be greatly appreciated by those in the industry in later generations as a model product.
As such this red-painted design was ordered by the Imaizumi family, one of the sixteen gold lacquerware manufacturers in Arita’s Akae-machi, but it is not clear whether it was ordered by the fifth generation Heibei or the sixth generation Kakuzo. In short , it is likely that the Iro-Nabeshima style of painting was perfected after the transfer of the Uwatsuke school to Arita. The Imaizumi family lineage is as follows.
Imaizumi Family Lineage
Imaizumi Imaemon I, first generation, died on August 21st, 1665
Imaemon II, second generation, died on June 10th, 1656
Imaemon Kumon, 3rd generation, died on February 15th, 1717
Kitao, 4th generation, died on March 7th, 1758
Heibei, 5th generation, died on July 11th, 1771
Kakusakumon, 6th generation, died on August 14th, 1800
Heibei, 7th generation, died on February 7th, 1842
Sukegoro, 8th generation, died on July 27th, 1854 Kado, 9th generation, died on June 16th, 1873
Tota, 10th generation, died on September 27th, 1927
Imaemon, 11th generation, born on June 16th, 1873
Heibei, born on August 8th, 1897

Special colored glazes
The Imaizumi family became the official red-painted ware makers for the clan from this time onwards, and were engaged in the production of colored Nabeshima ware. this excellent skill is still unsurpassed even today. In particular, the preparation of the colored glaze is extremely high in firing temperature, and after firing, it is polished with rice husks to reveal a lustrous sheen, and it is said to be ideal as tableware because it contains absolutely no lead.

The firing of the Akae Kiln Fire Bowl
The unglazed pottery fired at the Okawachi domain kiln at the time was sealed in a chest and transported to Arita, where it was accompanied by an official from the craftsmen’s guild, and all the overglaze enameling was applied at the Imaizumi family’s workshop. At the time of this Akae The official would also travel to the kiln to monitor the firing, and a high-tension lamp would be lit in front of the kiln with the Nabejima clan’s family crest of an apricot leaf (commonly mispronounced as giyoe, which is actually the leaf of a ginkgo tree, and the name houmyoga is a mistake), and a shimenawa rope would be stretched across the area, forbidding women and others from approaching. once they were burned, the officials inspected them one by one, and even the damaged items were sealed in chests and taken to the Ookawachi Craft Office.
The sixth generation Kazaemon, who is known as the Rokudai Kazaemon, who is known as the revival of the Imaizumi family, was particularly skilled at this craft, and he also enjoyed haikai poetry, and was known by the name of Rakuchu-bo Sago. Nanadai Heibei was also a master craftsman who was not inferior to his father, and in modern times, the 10th generation Tota, in particular, was highly praised. Imaemon (formerly Kumakazu) has inherited his father’s skills and has set up a branch office in Miyakezaka, Kojimachi, Tokyo.

Akaha of Chosa Akae
There is an article that says that someone who could write the history of the Akae pottery of Chosa in Satsuma negotiated with the Nabeshima clan from the Satsuma clan and obtained their permission, and that they learned the Akae method from the Okawachi clan kiln, but the Nabeshima clan, who kept this a secret at the time, would never agree. even if it was a command from the clan, the 16 Akae potters in Arita were united in their refusal to comply. He , the lord of the Ogi domain, a sub-fief of the Arita domain, even in the case of the Matsugaya ware, there are records in the old records of the domain of the opinions of these red painters (red painters).

1. In the diary of the red-painting craftsmen from January 1708 (written in red)

Therefore, the red-painting tradition of the Satsuma clan should probably be studied to see how it was acquired.

Kinuta Celadon
There are three main types of celadon, one of which is called “Tante” (named after the color of the flower vase shaped like a mortar that was fired at the Longquan kilns in Song China), and is called “Ame-no-Ao-Tenshō” (meaning “sky blue after rain”), and this is the hue of Nabeshima celadon.

Tenryū-ji celadon
One is Tenryu-ji (so named after the color of a censer made at the Longquan kilns in the Ming dynasty and now in Tenryu-ji in Saga) is called Senpo Suiiro, which is the celadon hue of Settsu Sanda ware, and is slightly yellowish compared to the Tsubo-te, and is made in Hizen Yamaga. should be called yellow-green, there are also grey-green ones, and there are also the powder blue and pea blue of Nanking celadon, or the murky Korean royal blue of Joseon celadon, or the light blue of the Yi Dynasty, and in modern times there is also chrome celadon, etc.)

Seven-official Seven-official-hand celadon
One type is called “Seven-official-hand celadon” (so named because it was first imported on a ship belonging to the seventh official of the Chinese government during the Tōzan period), and it comes in a variety of hues, including Kinuta-te and Tenryū-ji, as well as white glaze. This is a type of pottery with a soft glaze that, when taken out of the kiln, cracks in the glaze due to the expansion of the clay body. It is then painted with a thick black ink and allowed to penetrate into the cracks, and is therefore known as crackleware.

Celadon valuable
In the Tang Dynasty, it was said that the value of celadon was comparable to that of silver, while that of Yue ware (celadon) was comparable to that of jade. In the period of our dynasty, pottery (black ware) was comparable to lacquerware, but porcelain (celadon) was used in place of silverware. the beauty of Nabeshima celadon ranked first in the world, and his masterpieces such as the large floor vase with the giraffe design, the vase and the incense tray are said to have been made ten times. This is because the celadon glaze was applied thinly and the unglazed ware was fired ten times, and then it was finally fired.
Therefore its beautiful blue-green color is said to be a masterpiece that is second to none when compared to the Song dynasty Qintou ware.
Among the seven-official There are also pieces with white cracks in the glaze. This type of ware is sometimes produced in other kilns, but the characteristic of Nabeshima Shikun-te is the blue cracks in the glaze. There are also large crackle pieces that have been glazed five or six times, such as old product bottle covers and vases, but in modern times, it is rare to see this type of high-quality piece. there is a risk of the clay cracking, making it extremely difficult to produce. These seven were made mainly as vessels for presenting to the shogunate, and were so valuable that they were not only used by the clan or given as gifts to other clans, but were also not easily available to ordinary citizens.

Soejima Yushichi
Fukushima
There was a master potter called Yushichi Fukushima working at the imperial pottery workshop around the Tenmei era (1781-1789). was proficient in many areas, from woodcarving and twisted work to kiln-making, and from mixing raw materials to making blue-and-white porcelain, and he was especially favored by the feudal lord, Shigemasa. his works were very elegant and had a special charm of their own, and he always received praise from those around him, so he became conceited and lazy, and was reprimanded several times for disobeying the orders of his lord.

Criticism of the system criticized the system
When he spoke to others, he was not only frustrated that he, a master craftsman who had no equal in the Arita mountains, was being confined to these deep mountains, but also that, as a former retainer of the clan, it was not right to collect so many famous craftsmen and not allow them to go out easily, and there were those who could not always stop complaining and forbidding the restraint. However the inertia of the customs of the people of the surrounding area, and no one hated Yushichi’s arrogance as a way of forgetting the great kindness of the feudal lord that they had received since their ancestors.

Shoriki to the lord of the manor
The lord of the manor, fearing that if he dismissed him, who was outstanding in the field of pottery making, he would immediately spread the secret methods to other places, tolerated him, and he became even more confident. He made it his goal to reform the cramped system of the pottery workshop, and on several occasions he resisted the supervising lord’s orders with his own resisted the supervising clan official on several occasions using his own cowardice, he asked the clan lord for a ruling, and was punished according to the regulations, and was transferred to a farming village called Shourikibo in a neighboring village.

Yushichi ran away
Of course, his stipend was also confiscated, and he was stripped of his official position, so Yushichi was reduced to poverty, but no one even cared to look after him, as he had brought his own misery upon himself. On the way he abandoned his wife and child and ran away, and his whereabouts were unknown. There was evidence that he had once entered the Tobe kilns in Iyo, but later, at a market in Kyoto, someone saw pottery that was modeled on the designs of Nabeshima ware, and this led to the discovery of the whereabouts of the fugitive.

The police boarded a ship to Seto
From this point on, the Saga clan’s police boarded a ship to Seto, but as this was the territory of the Owari clan, one of the three branches of the Tokugawa family, it was difficult to enter without permission, so they disguised themselves as merchants or craftsmen , but the potters here were also very clever at hiding themselves, and were on their guard, so that even the most skilled of the police were unable to lay their hands on them.

Kobayashi Den’nai
Kobayashi Den’nai, a subordinate official at the Arita-Sarayama Magistrate’s Office, became a dealer in the pigment Gozu and, having entered the homes of the potters he had in mind, repeatedly encouraged them to buy, but the master of the house, who seemed to be the one in charge, said that he could not tell the quality of the pieces, but that if there was a skilled person, he should be able to appraise them, so he took them to another room and, after a while, they were ready. The pieces were not bad, but he said that they were a little expensive and asked for a small discount.

Yushichi was arrested
At this time, while looking closely at the item in question, he realized that it was not the original item he had given, and that it had been replaced with a different, inferior item in the back room. The owner was surprised and insisted that this was not the case, but Denai would not listen, and the owner became very angry. When a fight broke out, Denai heard Yushichi, who was in another room, and, drawing his sword, he was able to take down the owner with a single blow. Yushichi fled the third year after his escape, the efforts of the arresting officers were truly beyond measure. (Denai was promoted from the rank of foot soldier to the rank of samurai for this achievement, and he passed away at the age of 60 in the third year of Bunka.

Yushichi’s head on a pike
As such being hanged, Yushichi fully accepted his crime and asked that he be allowed to atone for his crime by completing a work that would be unmatched in the world, but the clan lord, Shigehiro, was not moved by his request and, despite his kind nature, he refused to reduce the death penalty, and so on December 28th, 1800 (Kansei 10th year) On December 28th, 1800, he was beheaded at the execution site in Kase, Saga County, and his head was displayed on a pole at the Kodo Pass in Okawachi Village as a warning to other craftsmen.

Yushichi’s Lion
In Okawachi In Okawauchi, a monument was later erected to enshrine the spirit of Yushichi, and it is said that some people would visit this monument to pray for skill in their handicrafts. , there is a Chinese lion that was dedicated to the Benzaiten Shrine in his hometown of Arita Izumiyama. It is made of crackleware porcelain and is said to be an excellent work in terms of both posture and structure. It is said that it was originally white , but it was later painted red, and only the male is now preserved, while the female is thought to have been lost. In addition, there are male and female lions at a certain doctor’s house in the village of Kawahigashi in Imari-go, which are made of unglazed earthenware and painted with ordinary colors, and are said to still be in the same family.
Yushichi taught various pottery techniques when he was in Aizase was in Aizuwakamatsu, he taught various pottery techniques, but even though it was the pottery period at the time, he taught the methods of making porcelain to people like Kumeya Kato and Chuji of the same area, but without the raw materials, it was impossible to reach the stage of experimentation Under the leadership of the Tsugane Magistrate, Kato Kichikomon and Karasakomon attempted to make porcelain, but they failed completely, and it was not until the arrival of Minokichi that Seto porcelain was perfected.
The feudal lord, Kanso, was asked by the shogunate to expand the Nagasaki battery, and he sent the clan retainer Honjima Fujita (real name Matsukage, died September 5th, 1888, aged 78) to ask the then gunner Izu Nirayama’s deputy, Egawa Tarozaemon Hidetatsu (real name Kufuchi Tan’an, died on January 16th, 1855, at the age of 55, and was posthumously awarded the fourth rank of the Japanese court), and asked him about fortifications and cannons, and in October 1850 (the third year of the Kaei era) he managed to forge a cannon in the northern part of the fortifications (in the courtyard of the current Nisshin Elementary School). The material for this sword was had been used as a material for forging swords by the famous swordsmith Chukichi, and was probably found in the area around Yasugi in Izumo. Yasugi has long been famous for its iron, and the sand iron was collected from the riverbeds in the area. (This is called “soil scooping”. The current “soil scooping” of Yasugi-bushi (the current method of scooping up the sand is thought to be a miscommunication)

Manufacturing fire-resistant bricks
The manufacturing of fire-resistant bricks, which form the basis for casting, was carried out at the Okawachi kiln, and it must have been the greatest at the time. Prior to this, the bricks used to make small cannons at Izu Nirayama , we do not know what kind of bricks were used to make the small cannons, but after that, in the first year of the Ansei era, the shogunate ordered the Saga clan (at this time, at the Tabuse River Wharf) to cast 50 large cannons for the Shinagawa Battery were ordered to be made, I think that these Okawachi products were the first of the excellent bricks produced in Japan.
Regarding brick production we consulted with Egawa Hidetatsu, and through the Shogunate’s physician Ito Genpaku (a man from Niyama Village in Kanzaki County, whose name was Fuchi and whose pseudonym was Hakujocho-o, also known as Choshunin Hoin, who died on January 2nd, 1871 at the age of 72, posthumously awarded the rank of Junior Fourth Rank, and the grandfather of the current Ito Sakae of Gosen Cosmetics) translated and produced through further research, and the artifacts that can be seen on display at the Shoko-kan Museum in Saga City are three inches thick and eight inches square. (The clan also built a steam ship in 1865 built a steamboat, and in 1855, built a model of a steam train).

Nabeshima Kansou dies
Meiji On January 18th, 1871, the 10th head of the Nabeshima clan, Nabeshima Naomasa, passed away at the age of 58. He was known as Kanso from the time he submitted his notice of retirement in November 1861, and he also used the names Konyu, Chayu, Kaisei, Kendou and Shisui. On February 7th, 1831, On the 7th of the 2nd month of the 1st year of Tenpo (1831), the previous lord, Naosada, retired, and at the age of 17, he took over the family headship and reformed the system to restore the impoverished finances. He was particularly deeply committed to the cause of the loyalist government , he returned his fief to the government on January 23rd, 1869, together with the three domains of Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa. He also made great efforts to develop industry within the domain, and was truly a great lord who revived the Saga domain. In 1900, he was posthumously awarded the title of “Chū-i-i” (first rank) , and is now enshrined as a special government-designated shrine (the 12th of October is designated as a public holiday).

Furukawa Matsune
Craftsman In addition to his regular products, Furukawa Matsune was also known for his ability to devise elaborate compositions from the finest of lines. He was the third son of Furukawa Yohei , the third son of the samurai Furukawa Yohei, was known by the childhood name of Hidehiro, and later changed his name to Koichi. He was also known by the pseudonyms Tokuki, Naraen, Neirakuen, and Kasian. , he was also extremely knowledgeable about history and customs, and had a deep knowledge of everything from swords and armor to seal engraving and calligraphy. He was the most favored retainer of the feudal lord Kansu and, together with the Noh actor KATAYAMA Denshichi, he served the lord at his side at all times, but when Kanso died, he committed suicide. He was 59 years old at the time, on January 21st, 1871.
(He was the father of Gentaro Hoshuji ) stands by the bronze statue of Kanso in the garden of the Imasaka Shrine, and his statue stands there, reminding us of his face.

Master potters of the clan kilns
There were many master potters There were many master potters working at the clan kilns, but the works of the clan kilns were all the result of cooperation, and it was completely impossible for each individual potter to express their own individuality through what we would call ‘comprehensive art’. there were many famous potters, such as Ichikawa Anzaemon and Shibata Sakuzo, who are not well known today, but were famous for their wheelwork in later years. Anzaemon died on August 9th, 1874 at the age of 68, and Sakuzo died on January 21st, 1881 at the age of 84.

Name of the patron of the Hiho Daimei The names of the patrons of the shrine
There is a shrine to Himpo Daimyojin to the south of the clan kiln. This is a branch shrine of the Himpo shrine in Saga, which enshrines the clan’s guardian deity, and was built in the third month of the sexagenary cycle in the sixth year of the Ansei era (1860). The people who sponsored the construction of this shrine were the people who sponsored the construction of the shrine, and they were likely officials and craftsmen from the end of the domain’s kilns, namely the officials were the pottery officials Harada Denbei, Shibata Kazusakomon, Tanaka Hanosuke, Nakamizo Gohei, and the village headman Furuta Shichisakomon, and the craftsmen were Shibata Sakusakomon Kozoumon, Kagara Manpei, Hachiya Jizoumon, Shibata Tokuzoumon, Soeda Kouzoumon, Ikeda Tomozoumon, Fujisaki Ichibei, Hara Jozoumon, Tateishi Kanroku, Ichikawa Yasuzaemon, Matsuen Jinzoumon, Ichikawa Satai, Johjima Chouzo, Fukuoka Kahie, Jinsuke Mitsutake, Heisakumon Soeda, Kanshichi Mitsutake, Kintaro Kanbe, Shigesuke Ichikawa, Zenbei Shibata, Yazaburo Tominaga, Chibei Tomisaki, Tamesuke Tominaga, Fukuzo Shibata, and others. The following were the workers: Heisaku Yamamoto, Kikichi Fujimoto, Kazuhei Tabuchi , Morisanda, Tabuchi Heikichi, Morisoshichi, Matsuo Yuzaburo, and 16 people from the Okawachi mountain area of the Mito-yaki (folk pottery) kilns, as well as other craftsmen such as Kinebei Furukawa, the official carpenter Shibata Chikuju, and the official blacksmith Miyata Kuranosuke.

Mito-yaki Sixteen people
The Mingei kilns, also known as the Mote-den kilns, were made up of three sections, with the central section of three ken being the clan kiln, and the lower section being made up of ten people who added the Kyogama Anko kiln to the lower section, and six people who only worked on the upper section, known as the Hon-mote-den. According to a survey at the end of the period According to a survey conducted at the end of the period, the Honten-den kiln was fired by Tomiyasu Fumiemon, Fukuoka Kihei (the first kiln worker for the clan), Hatanose Takeukemon, Tomiyasu Kizaemon, Morishige Sakemon, Ogata Eisakemon, Fukuoka Rokusuke, Nagase Ryosichi, Shibata Settaro, Mori Kōemon, etc., and the assistants were Mitsutake Hanjichi (the first potter at the clan kiln), Ikeda Rinsakōmon, Tominaga Tokudayu, Hachiya Kyūhei, Furuta Mataemon, Matsuo Katsujū, etc.

The craftsmen The kilns were closed
As a result of the great reforms of the Meiji Restoration (the dissolution of the Okawachi domain kilns is thought to have taken place in 1871, although the date given is December 9th, 1867), the prosperity of the pottery, which had flourished under the patronage of the domain lord and the generous supplies of materials, came to an end. were already closed down, and the 31 workers were all incorporated into the samurai class with certificates of gold and rice bonds, but it is hard to imagine how much of a blow it was to the Okawachi mountain, which had been so blessed in the past.
This was not just the case for the Okawachi mountain Okawachi was not the only place, but many of the pottery-making areas, where the lords and village chiefs either ran the kilns directly or managed them under their protection, were very rare, and therefore belonged to the investment projects of local capitalists. Therefore, when the great reform of the Meiji Restoration occurred one morning encountered the great reform of the Meiji Restoration, it was not unreasonable that the misery of these potters and their workers was like that of a monkey that had fallen from a tree.

The Okawachi Collapse
The potters of Okawachi, who had been scattered by this tragic fate, moved to other pottery mountains in Arita, Mikawachi and other regions. Among them it is said that this was certainly due to the influence of the fact that the products of this area subsequently abandoned the old elegance of the Saru period and added a certain elegant Nabeshima style to them, as is known.

Mitsutake Hikohiko Hikotakehiko
Hikotakehiko was skilled in painting, and in the early Meiji period he went to Tokyo at the behest of his clan and entered the training school of Hattori Kyoho, where he learned Western-style painting, and he also studied Kyoto-style red painting under the third generation of Dohei in Kyoto. He was also skilled in was also skilled at making netsuke, and he produced a design of a circle of plum blossoms and chrysanthemums for use as a picture frame, which was a particularly ingenious idea. He was a master craftsman who excelled in delicate techniques, such as the fine hairs of the plum blossoms. He passed away on January 26th, 1893 at the age of 58.

Yoshihira Shibata He
is mentioned in the Shibata family tree as “In the fifth year of the An’ei era, both Rinzaiemon Ikeda, a wheelwright, and Zengoro Shibata, a coiled-wire craftsman, were summoned to the court to make a pair of sandals for the emperor”. Zembon was a master craftsman of netsuke and was particularly skilled at making tea utensils, especially those for use on the floor, such as hermits and Guan Yu statues. He himself was a truly refined and elegant person, with a long beard that he would stroke.
He visited Kyoto in the early years of the Meiji era visited Kyoto in the early years of the Meiji era and studied Kiyomizu-yaki, and the tea utensils he produced were extremely elegant, with hand-twisted Chinese-style landscapes in relief, etc., which were the refined products of the time. (There are also teapots with four legs attached to the underside of the lid.)

Duck’s feet
Zen The name “Zenpei” is derived from the fact that there is a tree called a “duck foot tree” in front of his garden. In 1875, when Tsutomu Sakurai established the Eishinsha company in Izushi, Tajima, with the aim of providing employment for former samurai, he invited Zenpei, along with Toranosuke Shibata and Toshitoshi Dofuku, to teach pottery to the young people.

Heron Foot
In 1877, In the tenth year of the Meiji era, Matsumura Tatsumasa of Arita Village established a pottery business in Himeji called Eiseisha, which provided employment for samurai. Zenpei was invited to join the company, and he taught pottery techniques to over 50 children of samurai who had been recruited to work there. At the time , a student of his, was making hand-twisted tea utensils in the Kosho-machi area of the city and selling them under the name of “Ashiyaki”. Zenpei passed away on June 2nd, 1902 at the age of 68.
Due to the reforms of the Meiji Restoration reform, the craftsmen were forced to close down, and Mitsuke Hayashi Jihei was ordered to stay behind and finish off the existing products and unglazed ware, but it is not known exactly when this was completed.

Seikosha Establishment
Mitsutake Hikoshichi, who regretted that the Nabeshima ware name would die out, joined forces with Hara Jiemon (the son of the Nabeshima kiln worker Jozamon) and Tateishi Kanbei (the son of the clan potter Kanroku) and worked tirelessly to revive the pottery, and with the support of the clan treasury, they established the Seiko-sha. Henshichi was the president, but when the company was about to close down in later years, Zenpei Shibata and Rokusuke Fukuoka cooperated to keep it going, but it fell into financial difficulties again.

Ichikawa U Uhei
There was a painter called Ichikawa Uhei who worked at the craft workshop, and he was once ordered by the clan to study under the painter Ousai, who was famous for his skill, but he died in October 1856, and although his son Shigesuke took over the family business, he lost his job when the craft workshop was closed down and the business was taken over by Zenpei and Rokusuke, who had been running the Seiko-sha company. He took the name Uhei in later years, but he died on November 10th, 1898 at the age of 59, and his son Kounosuke took over the business.

Fukuoka elder and his younger brother, Hachisuke Ogasawara
Fukuoka Rokusuke, who was a representative potter of the time, passed away on May 10th 1893 at the age of 53, and his younger brother, Tomojiro, passed away on June 4th 1909 at the age of 59. Hachisuke Ogasawara passed away on February 28th 1918 at the age of 67.
On March 11th 1913 On March 11th of the second year of Taisho, Fukuoka Daigorou of this place obtained a patent for the Fukuoka method of applying gold and silver to ceramics (No. 23614), and on July 31st of the same year he obtained another patent for the method of applying underglaze designs to ceramics (No. 43176).

Nabeshima Naotaka passed away
On June 18th, 1921, the feudal lord of the Nabeshima clan, Marquis Naotaka Nabeshima, passed away. He was 76 years old. He was the eldest son of Kanso, and had been stationed in Italy as a special envoy, and had also served the lord for a long time as the chief of the Board of Ceremonies. even after the closure of the clan kilns, he continued to invest in the Seiko-sha business and provide it with support.

The present-day Okawachi-yama
The present-day Okawachi-yama has 70 households, 20 kilns, 150 workers, and an annual production value of around 100,000 yen, which is said to be one third of the value of the period when the private kilns were thriving. At that time, the sixteen master potters who were renowned at the time all died out, and the only one who has inherited the tradition is Yuhei Yamamoto (the eldest son of Morishige Sakumon). Other representative potters include Katsutaro Setoguchi.
Okawachi In June 1908, Okawachi-yama invested 13,000 yen in the renovation of 1,800 meters of local roads, and traffic by car and horse increased greatly. Furthermore, in November of the same year, all the kilns along the path of the pottery mountain built new display windows, a sight that could not be seen in other mountains in Mikawachi or elsewhere.

Ichinose Yama
Ichinose Yama (formerly Ichinose no Sato) in Okawachi Village is a neighboring mountain to Okawachi Yama, and is separated from it by a distance of 20 cho (approx. 20 km) over the mountains, and is also a journey of over 1 ri (approx. 6 km) from Imari. There are those who say that There are those who say that the Korean people from the Nakanohara area of the former Matsuura Village (the Muta area and the Takenoyama area) crossed the mountains via Koishiwara to open a kiln here, but it is not clear whether or not it was actually possible to cross the mountains at that time.

Kora Jinja Kilns
The old kiln sites at Ichinose include the Kora-jin, Hi-no-tani, Ichinose-ko-gama, Ichinose-shin-gama, and Higashi-no-tani kilns. The Kora-jin is located at the foot of a mountain, where a stream flows into a valley to the south, and the old pottery produced here includes bowls and plates with a yellowish-gray or greenish glaze on a lead-colored or dark yellowish clay body, and some of the pieces have a straw-like pattern painted on them using a iron glaze. In addition, unglazed , and the dark yellow glaze has a crinkled appearance.

Hino-dani
Hino-dani is a western hillside, and most of the surrounding area is farmland. Old kiln products , many tea bowls with a light brown glaze, black brown glaze, egg-colored glaze, and duck-egg brown glaze, etc., were produced on a dark yellow or yellowish clay body, and the fact that the foot ring is high and glazed means that they were made in a later period than the Goryeo ware. Porcelain was also produced later.
The Hino Valley is the Ichinose kiln, and the kiln at the back is the Ichinose Shinkama. These two kilns were very active at the time, and they used the same materials as Okawachi, using only the Arita Izumi-yama magnet.

Ichinose Higashi no Tani
The kiln ruins in the area known as Higashi no Tani (literally “eastern valley”), which is also a valley to the east, are said to have been built by Ogushi Shikazo around 46 or 47 years ago, and to have produced low-grade items such as hirame and Harutaya donburi using stencil dyeing, but it is said that they were discontinued after a short time due to the large amount of water that flowed down from the mountains.
During the period of the feudal system under the pottery system of the feudal era, Ichinoseyama was limited to producing low-grade products such as the 6-sun donburi Harutaya donburi (a type of donburi with a green-patterned rim, named after a certain customer called Harutaya who ordered this type of donburi . It was also designated as a bamboo hermit in terms of its design. Even after that the daily-use bowls were the most popular, and although there was a separate style of ware produced in Okawachi, it was always said that the production value of the bowls from this kiln surpassed that of the other.

Katsushichi Takeshita Seven
In later years, due to the continuing recession, all the kilns in the area temporarily ceased production, and there was a period when Katsushichi Takeshita was the sole producer. It is said that he produced over 70,000 yen worth of pottery in a single year. Katsushichi was the son of the previous generation’s Kiyokazu Koumoto, and he started working for the Okawachi Village Mayor on April 16th, 1919. He was replaced by Kyutaro Maeda after a little over a year, but he always did his best in his business and village administration, and on March 22nd of the same year he was commended by the head of the department as a guardian of the self-governing system.
In this way he passed away on February 10th, 1921 at the age of 70.
In the early Meiji period, there were 15 or 16 pottery kilns in this area, and pottery production was very prosperous, but the number of households has since declined to less than half, with only 25 or 26 households remaining. Currently, there are only four pottery kilns in operation are now only four, namely, Hideo Takeshita, Katsushige Ogushi, Gihei Kaneko, and Shinichi Tanaka, and the annual production is said to be worth about 40,000 yen.
Looking at the Nabeshima ware that is being produced today, I feel that it is not satisfactory compared to the products of the past.
And regardless of whether the aim is to revive the product or not, if we can go one step further and revive the true artistic manufacturing method, and use the materials from Izumiyama to produce high-quality products like those of the past, I cannot help but think about how greatly this would contribute to the development of the Japanese craft industry. Even so the first problem is funding.

I hope for the support of the Imperial Household Department
Of course, it is not possible to complete a work of art with only funding and hard work, but at a time when the products of this region in general have become very superficial and the traditional glaze of Arita ware is in danger of being lost, even if it is on a small scale, if an organization like the Imperial Household Department even if it is on a small scale, if it contributes to the revival and progress of Arita ware, it will be a great blessing for those who appreciate the true beauty of Arita ware.

The incomparable quality of the Shichikante unparalleled
quality of the product, there are many places in Japan that produce porcelain and celadon, but the place that produces this type of Shichikante is something that we have not heard of before due to our lack of knowledge have not heard of it, and in the past it was said that using this type of tableware would eliminate various poisons, and in particular, during the period of the feudal system, it was even prohibited to produce it outside of the kilns of the feudal clans. However, in later generations, as a result of poor quality and overproduction, it came to be regarded as the worst of the poor quality wares.

Shichikante The reason for the poor quality
The incident occurred around 1882, when the Izumiyama Sekiba Reserve Fund Repayment Incident (see Arita) broke out, and the Okawachi kilns were all outraged that the money was being spent on such an unexpected thing, decided unanimously not to use the raw materials from Izumiyama, and from this point on, they all began to produce crackleware using the celadon clay from the local Roppon-yanagi area. They also stopped using the expensive tachibana ash and began to use the ash from the kiln back as the flux.

Seven officials were in charge of selling the ware
Furthermore, since the glaze was thin and the color yellowish, the rough products were sold at a low price, and the market price in Imari was a pitiful 7 sen for a set of tea utensils and 4.5 sen for a small tea bowl. From this period onwards the value of crackleware was completely lost, and it declined to the extent that it was even used for graveyard tea bowls and flower vases.

Improvement of Shichikante
During the era of the feudal system we recall that Shikante was prized as a product for the imperial household rather than as a product for the general public, and we hope that we are not the only ones who wish to see the revival of such fine products as in the old days. The great drawback of the conventional products is that they are extremely fragile due to their ceramic quality, and as a result, their range of use has gradually shrunk.
Therefore, it is essential to is more important than stone ware, and it is essential to make it as light as possible by researching glaze methods, especially for everyday items. In the end, the best strategy at this time may be to keep prices low. And the