Also called feldspar ceramics. Clay and feldspar are added to a base rich in siliceous material to give it plasticity and make it easier to fuse, and then it is shime-fired at a slightly higher temperature, followed by glaze firing. It has the same firmness and resistance to breakage as porcelain, and its shape is more correct and inexpensive than porcelain. However, because it is softer than porcelain, it is prone to small defects. In 1770, Astbury, a young boy from Purslem, England, accidentally discovered that adding china clay to Delft (tin-glazed porcelain) hardened it to a white color. The technology was then introduced to Europe and the United States in the nineteenth century. The first Japanese hardware manufacturer was Matsumura Hardware Company in Nagoya in 1902 (35th year of Meiji). (Nippon Kogyo Taikan)
