Kakiemon

It was originally produced at the kilns around Arita, in Japan's Hizen province (today, Saga Prefecture) from the Edo period's mid-17th century onwards.

[1] The quality of its decoration was highly prized in the West and widely imitated by major European porcelain manufacturers during the Rococo period.

[2] The style was quickly copied by the new European porcelain factories that appeared in the 18th century, such as Meissen in Germany, Chantilly in France and Chelsea in England.

The potter Sakaida Kakiemon (酒井田柿右衛門, 1596–1666) is popularly credited with being one of the first in Japan to discover the secret of enamel decoration on porcelain, known as akae.

The early history and ownership are not very clear, and at this period the real Kakiemon enterprise may have been a decorating workshop that worked very closely with this kiln, which had developed a white porcelain body and a near-transparent glaze, superior to the other Arita producers.

[4] Shards from the kakiemon kiln site at Shimo-Nangawarayama (下南川原山) show that blue-and-white sometsuke and celadon wares were also produced, besite other styles like Ko-Kutani.

[5][6] Kakiemon porcelain was exported from Japan into Europe via the Dutch East India Company, and beginning in the 1650s, through a variety of other avenues.

The famed white nigoshide body was only used with open forms, and not for closed shapes such as vases, bottles and teapots, or for figures and animals.

The style was also adapted in Germany and Austria by the Du Paquier manufactory and in France at Chantilly, Mennecy and Saint-Cloud porcelain.

Pieces are usually painted with birds, flying squirrels, the "Quail and Millet" design, the "Three Friends of Winter" (pine, plum, and bamboo), flowers (especially the chrysanthemum, the national flower of Japan) and figural subjects such as the popular "Hob in the Well" (shiba onko), illustrating a Chinese folk tale where a sage saves his friend who has fallen into a large fishbowl.