The Kyushu Ceramic Museum
History of Arita Ware
Why Did Porcelain Develop in Arita?
In the late sixteenth century, Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1537-1598), the retired imperial regent (taiko) of Japan, launched two campaigns against Ming China by way of the Korean Peninsula. Many of his commanders brought Korean artisans back with them after the failed invasions, including the lords of Hizen Province (now Saga and Nagasaki Prefectures). Even before Toyotomi's campaigns began, the lord of Karatsu, a coastal town in Hizen, had brought Koreans to the area to make ceramics. They created a type of non-porous stoneware called Karatsu ware (karatsu-yaki), which known as the oldest glazed pottery in Kyushu. By the last decade of the sixteenth century, many Korean potters were producing Karatsu ware across Hizen, including in Arita.
Porcelain stone was discovered in the Arita area in the 1610s. The term "porcelain stone" is used to refer rocks that contain high levels of quartz, sericite, and kaolinite. The stone used to make the kind of clay needed to produce porcelain. Large quantities of wood were needed to fuel the kilns used to fire the porcelain. With the discovery of porcelain stone and a plentiful supply of timber in the mountains, Arita became the first place in Japan to produce porcelain and has been the center of Japanese porcelain production ever since.
Arita was located in Saga Domain, and the rulers of the domain recognized the potential benefits of being the sole producers of porcelain. They actively managed and protected the porcelain kilns in Arita throughout the Edo period (1603-1868). The first Arita porcelain were characterized by the blue-and-white (sometsuke) technique of painting cobalt-based underglaze onto unfired porcelain before applying a translucent glaze. The first domestically produced porcelain with multicolor overglaze (known as uwa-e or aka-e) appeared in the 1640s, when local artisans learned how to recreate Chinese overglaze techniques.
Most of Japan was closed to foreign trade during the Edo period, but the Dutch East India Company was allowed to operate a trading post in Nagasaki, also part of Hizen Province. In the early 1600s, the most popular porcelain in both Japan and the West was made in China and porcelain is still often referred to as "china" in some English-speaking countries. Chinese exports stopped, however, around 1644 due to conflict during the transition from the Ming dynasty to the Qing dynasty (1618-1683) and Dutch traders switched to buying Japanese porcelain. To meet the new demand, more kilns were built on the mountainsides of Arita. Porcelain produced by these kilns and those nearby was shipped around Japan through the port of Imari, and through this association the porcelain came to be called Imari ware (imari-yaki). Today, however, "Imari ware" refers to ceramics produced in Imari rather than merely trafficked there, while the porcelain made in Arita during the Edo period is often called Old Imari (ko-imari).
Discovery of Izumiyama Quarry
In the 1610s, ceramic production in Arita was centered on Korean and Japanese potters on the western side of town. The potters created porcelain based on Chinese blue-and-white designs. However, porcelain stone was hard to find, and their few porcelain pieces were fired together with many stoneware pieces.
In 1616, a Korean potter whose name is recorded as Kanagae Sanbei (d. 1655) moved to western Arita with a group of other potters. Sanbei is said to have discovered porcelain stone deposits at Izumiyama, on the eastern side of Arita, and have built new kilns nearby. The porcelain stone from the Izumiyama quarry could be mined in large quantities and was high in kaolinite which is necessary for making porcelain.
In 1637, Saga Domain concentrated Arita's porcelain production in the east, near Izumiyama. Kilns were built on the steep sides of the valley near the quarry, and the river was used to power wooden trip hammers that crushed the porcelain stone into powder. This powder was mixed with water to form the porcelain clay. The kilns near Izumiyama produced only porcelain. Izumiyama quarry was designated a National Historic Site in 1980.
Flourishing Exports
Arita's porcelain production grew rapidly in the second half of the seventeenth century as exports increased. Chinese porcelain had all but disappeared, and new designs were needed to meet the demands of the European market. This included shapes previously unknown to Arita's potters, such as coffee pots, wine decanters, beer mugs, saltcellars, and mustard pots. As European requests grew, new colors and styles were invented by the Arita craftsmen.
One of the most important types of Arita ware (arita-yaki) at the time was Kakiemon-style porcelain. Its distinctive overglaze colors and designs inspired European ceramics producers, including the Meissen porcelain kilns in Germany. In the first half of the eighteenth century, another style of Arita ware called kinrande found popularity among the Western upper class. Kinrande (literally, "gold brocade") was inspired by antique Chinese styles of porcelain that used overglaze gold to create extravagant, colorful designs.
By the 1680s, the Qing dynasty had taken control of all of China. With the onset of peace, Chinese exports resumed, creating sudden competition for Arita ware. In 1757 the Dutch East India Company stopped official export of Arita ware. Approximately 100 years later, however, Japan reopened to foreign trade, and many merchants began selling Arita ware overseas again. Trade with the West led to an influx of new technologies that had been developed abroad. European craftsmen had invented plaster molds, discovered new pigments, and created new kinds of kilns in attempting to copy Eastern porcelain. Japanese artisans quickly adopted these advances into their work.
During the Meiji era (1868-1912), the Japanese government promoted the export of traditional goods, such as silk and porcelain, as a way to stimulate the national economy. The government helped promote Arita ware and other craft goods at several world's fairs, notably Vienna in 1873, Philadelphia in 1876, and Paris in 1878.
Arita Ware in Daily Life
Arita ware was originally mostly tableware. Typically, each part of a traditional Japanese meal--rice, soup, main, sides--is served in a separate dish. The shape and size of each dish is chosen to best compliment the food. Arita craftsmen tended to produce smaller pieces for the Japanese market, such as rice bowls, namasu-zara (for side dishes), and teshio-zara (for pickled vegetables or condiments).
By the second half of the eighteenth century, exports of Arita ware had slowed to a trickle and porcelain from Arita came to be sold almost exclusively inside Japan. As people's spending power increased during the long peace of the Edo period (1603-1868), Arita craftsmen created new designs and styles to meet the food and fashion trends of the growing middle class of merchants and artisans.
The pieces from the Mr. and Mrs. Shibata Collection in Exhibit Room 2 are arranged to illustrate each stage in the development of Arita ware, beginning with early pieces from the seventeenth century and ending with items created during the nineteenth century. Examples of Edo-period place settings have also been reproduced from the collection.
Overview of the Kyushu Ceramic Museum
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum was opened in 1980 to preserve and promote the unique pottery culture of Kyushu and Okinawa. It has approximately 30,000 items in its collection, including two Japanese Important Cultural Properties, and aims to be an internationally recognized facility representing Kyushu's ceramic culture. The museum collects, conserves, researches, and displays important artistic, industrial, and historical materials.
The museum has a wide range of historic and modern ceramic pieces. It hosts special exhibitions and regularly displays works by members of the Japan Art Academy, as well as by individuals certified as Preservers of Important Intangible Cultural Properties ("Living National Treasures").
Exhibit Guide
The museum is divided into five exhibition rooms that together display approximately 1,500 pieces at any one time. For the best experience, visit the exhibit rooms in numerical order.
Exhibit Room 1: History of Arita Ware
Exhibit Room 2: Mr. and Mrs. Shibata Collection
Exhibit Room 3: Old Ceramics of Kyushu
Exhibit Room 4: Contemporary Ceramics of Kyushu
Exhibit Room 5: General Exhibition Room
Special pieces are placed throughout the museum grounds, including the Karakuri Musical Clock in the main hall, the Bells of Meissen outside the museum, and the cassowary statue and fountain made of Meissen porcelain in the courtyard.
Arita ware tiles and fixtures can also be seen on the walls, floors, and doors of the museum.
Exhibit Room 1: History of Arita Ware
The History of Arita Ware exhibit provides basic information about porcelain produced in Hizen Province (now Saga and Nagasaki Prefectures), covering production techniques, domestic distribution, and foreign trade in Hizen over the past four centuries.
Among the various ceramics produced in Hizen, the exhibit focuses on the history of Arita ware: its development after the discovery of porcelain stone at Izumiyama, the flourishing of domestic trade and exports, and role of Arita ware in people's daily lives. Room 1 also contains the 101 items of the Kanbara Collection, featuring Arita ware that was exported to Europe.
Exhibit Room 2: Mr. and Mrs. Shibata Collection
The Mr. and Mrs. Shibata Collection includes approximately 10,000 pieces of Arita ware from the Edo period (1603-1868) that were donated to the museum in the 1990s and 2000s. Approximately 1,000 pieces of the collection are displayed in a yearly rotation. Selected works from each stage in the history of Arita ware illustrate the way fashions changed and production techniques evolved. The collection is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property of Japan.
Exhibit Room 3: Old Ceramics of Kyushu
The Old Ceramics exhibit features approximately 100 pieces from the Edo period (1603-1868) each year. The pieces are divided by geographic region based on the modern prefectures of Kyushu (Saga, Nagasaki, Fukuoka, Kumamoto, Oita, Miyazaki, and Kagoshima), and Okinawa. The exhibit features primarily Karatsu ware, Japan's first porcelains (now known as Early Imari or shoki imari in Japanese), as well as subsequent Arita ware styles including Kakiemon and kinrande. Ceramics produced at famous kilns in each prefecture illustrate Kyushu's rich regional ceramic diversity.
Exhibit Room 4: Contemporary Ceramics of Kyushu
The creative and innovative works displayed in the Contemporary Ceramics exhibit represent the historically diverse uses of ceramics in Kyushu. Representing a variety of pottery techniques from traditional to avant-garde, works by approximately 100 artists from around Kyushu are displayed in a yearly rotation. Most of the pieces are by artists who belong to prominent traditional craft and art associations, including Nitten and the Japan Kogei Association.
Kanbara Collection (Owned by Arita Town)
The Kanbara Collection was the private collection of Kanbara Hakaru (1896-1987), who donated it to the town of Arita in 1976. Kanbara was named an Honorary Citizen of Arita Town in 1980, the year that the Kyushu Ceramic Museum opened, and the Kanbara collection was transferred to the museum to be placed on permanent display.
All of the Kanbara Collection was bought in Europe. It includes many pieces that were made in Arita during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries for the European export market. The kinrande (literally, "gold brocade") style was one of the popular styles of Arita ware exported to Europe during the Edo period (1603-1868). Featuring cobalt blue underglaze with polychrome (red and gold) overglaze enamel designs, kinrande was intricate and extravagant. Since these pieces were intended for export, their shapes are markedly different from pieces made for the Japanese market. Western-style serving vessels in the collection include a wine decanter; lidded bowls and saucers; and a seasoning set marked with the letters A, O, and S (referring to the Dutch for vinegar, oil, and sauce, respectively). Once porcelain made in Arita reached Europe, it was often modified to meet the desires of the European buyers. For example, gold fittings were sometimes attached to vases turning them into things like candle stands, chandeliers, and lamps.
Mr. and Mrs. Shibata Collection
The Mr. and Mrs. Shibata Collection contains over 10,000 pieces of Arita ware. Beginning in 1990, the collection was donated to the museum by Shibata Akihiko (1940-2004) and his wife, Yuko, over the course of 14 years. Most of their collection's pieces were for the domestic market and are different in design and purpose from those in the Kanbara Collection. The exhibit is arranged chronologically, beginning in the 1610s, and the selection of pieces from different parts of the Edo period (1603-1868) illustrates the development of Arita ware over time.
Early examples of Arita ware are characterized by the grayish, off-white color of the base porcelain. As the quality and precision of the production process improved, Arita artisans began to produce whiter and thinner porcelain. Beginning in the 1630s, designs started to reflect greater Chinese influence, including auspicious symbols such as hares, cranes, and herons, along with mythical creatures like dragons and phoenixes, and specific types of flowers. In the late seventeenth century, design and techniques improved greatly, and the reputation of Arita ware grew.
In the collection's exhibit, Kakiemon-style and kinrande-style pieces are contrasted with earlier pieces to indicate how Arita ware developed. The exhibit also examines the use of Arita ware during the Edo period with pieces from the collection arranged as they might have been used in various place settings. Approximately 1,000 of the 10,311 total pieces are displayed each year on a rotating basis. The collection is a Registered Tangible Cultural Property.
Karakuri Musical Clock
This special clock in the main hall of the museum was created through the collaboration of 13 major kilns in Arita. Various parts of the clock are decorated with pieces of Arita ware painted with traditional Arita-ware patterns and in the clock are Arita-ware figurines of children wearing seasonal outfits. Every 30 minutes, on the hour and half-hour, the face of the clock opens to reveal a brief mechanical display. The 2-minute song that accompanies the display changes with the seasons, as do the figurines. The children's figurines that correspond to the other three seasons are displayed next to the clockface.