JAPAN
three parts of a yellowish clay found at Iimori, in the Nishibippu district; one part of the black earth of Hiroda, also in the Nishibippu district; and one part of the red earth of Moto-gokuraku, in the Takeko district. For the glaze, the sand of Sakimori and the clays of Bippu-mura and Oyamada-mura are employed.
The family of the celebrated Hōchiu, originator of the Chōsa faience, is now in its ninth generation, the present representative being Kawara Gensuke, who carries on the ancestral occupation at Tatsumonji. The factories at this place suffered greatly by the abolition of feudal government in 1868. Deprived of the patronage which they had so long enjoyed, not more than sixteen out of forty families of potters could continue their trade. That this period of difficulty did not end in the complete prostration of the industry appears to have been chiefly due to Gensuke's exertions. Persistently encouraging his fellow workmen, he succeeded at last (1882) in opening a trade with Tōkyō, Yokohama, and Kobe, the result being that the potters of Tatsumonji are now in a comparatively flourishing condition. But they no longer exhibit the skill of former times in the production of coloured glazes. The demand for choice specimens of such faience has practically ceased, and their staple manufactures, whether decorated with vitrifiable enamels or in the style of the old Hōchiu faience, are destined chiefly for common use.
The family of Hōkō, who did so much for the renaissance and development of the Tatsumonji-yaki in the latter part of the eighteenth century, is now represented by Kawara Juzaemon; while Kawara Tobei's line is represented by Kawara Kintaro and Kawara Yahei.
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