The porcelain founder of Arita, Hizen Province (Saga Prefecture).
The so-called Ri Sanpei.
However, this name was given by a later generation and does not seem to be found in any ancient documents.
A native of Kimgang, Chungcheong-do, Korea.
He was brought to Korea in 1597 by Naomochi Nabeshima’s retainer, Nagato Taku, when he returned triumphantly to Japan after Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasion of Korea.
He was the discoverer of quartz coarse-grained rock, or the raw material for porcelain, at Izumiyama, and the first creator of porcelain in Japan.
It is to his credit that the Arita pottery industry exists today.
He was first located in today’s Koraidani, Taku (Taku City), Ogi County, near Anshun’s residence, but later moved to Ranbashi, Arita Township, Matsuura County (Nishi-Arita Town, Kyokugawa), where he made pottery.
Pottery excavated from the Ranbashi kiln site shows that it is not porcelain, as it is a clay ware with a white mud on a reddish clay with a mottled pattern, a thin base, and crape inside the base.
Later, after discovering the raw materials for porcelain at Izumiyama, he built a climbing kiln in Tengu Valley in Shirakawa, Arita, and began firing porcelain.
There are various theories as to the date of the discovery, but it was probably between the Genna period (1615-24) and the beginning of the Kan’ei period (1624-44).
At that time, Arita was a desolate cold village in the deep mountains with only a few scattered m-fields, but the discovery of this white porcelain ore gave an opportunity to start a business, and it became a major ceramic production area today.
Since then, the Kanegae clan was ordered by the Taku clan to be the head of Goryeo potters, and in 1773, the clan was given a further allowance of rice.
In 1773, he was given a further grant of rice.
Sanbei died in August 1655 in Kamishirakawa, Arita.
His grave was located in the valley behind Hoon-ji Temple in the Hiekoba district of Arita Town, but in May 1918, it was moved to the Keisho location near the gravesite of the successive generations of the Kanegae family, and a monument in honor of Lee Sanpei was erected at the Hoon-ji grave site.
The monument is made of huajiao-iwa Arita lotus stone, and the inscription was written by Takejiro Senju.
［Kanagae family lineage: Sanbei – Sanbei 2nd (1704, died on New Year’s 26th) – Sotayu 3rd (1724, died in February, Kyoho 9) – Sanbei 4th (1764, died in October, Meiwa 1) – Sanbei 5th – Sotayu 6th (1806, died in October, Bunka 3) – Sanbei 7th (1835, died on July 19th, Tenpo 6) – Sanbei 8th Sotayu VIII (died April 21, 1860) – Sanbei IX (died 1856) – Gisaburo X (died May 21, 1884) – Yonesuke XI (died October 2, 1909) – Gihei XII (“History of Arita Pottery,” “History of Japanese Ceramics,” “History of Arita porcelain”)
