Paper stencils for ceramic painting. The pattern is made by layering several sheets of thin paper coated with persimmon tannin and then applying the pigment to the base to create a variety of patterns. In 1877, Hisatsugu Muta of Otaru, Arita in Hizen (Saga and Nagasaki prefectures) started this paper pattern carving business, which was popular for a while because of its simplicity, but gradually became inferior and crude, and finally died out in recent years. The Usuba technique was also seen in Owari and Mino (Aichi and Gifu prefectures) in the early Meiji period (1868-1912), but it was probably introduced from Hizen. (Shinichi Terauchi)
