WARES OF KYŌTŌ
It will be seen that the above chronology attributes the founding of the Awata factory to Bunzo in 1645. Other accounts say that the first Awata potter was Kuemon, who flourished from 1619 to 1663. In support of the latter tradition there used to be shown at Awata a little shrine dedicated to Kuemon on the hill where he procured materials. Whichever account be correct, it is certain that the faience of Awata did not assume a decorative character until the time of Nomura Ninsei. Thenceforth it became the principal ware of Kyōtō. The representative Awata-yaki may be described as a faience having pâte of medium closeness and of brownish tint; semi-translucid glaze of somewhat cold, greyish colour; and a profusion of enamelled decoration, in which clear brilliant green and opaque blue, often verging on lilac, are the dominant colours, the whole being enriched with gold and, more rarely, silver. Nomura Ninsei was fond of using silver for decorative purposes, but as a rule this material was employed by the best artists only. The other colours applied at Awata were red,—full-bodied and opaque,—purple, and yellow, the two last being rare. Good specimens of the ware present features very easily recognised. Hardness and closeness of pâte, softness and sheen of glaze, regularity of crackle, and brilliancy of enamels,—these are points of which any amateur can judge. Diapers were the decorative staple. Sometimes they were used alone, dispersed over the surface of a piece with all the bizarre symmetry that the Japanese artist loved. Sometimes they were broken by medallions enclosing floral designs, birds, mythical animals, or, more rarely, figures of supernatural personages. From the middle of the eighteenth century the colour of the glaze passed
189
