Chapter V
WARES OF KAGA (ISHIKAWA) PREFECTURE
After the wares of Hizen, Satsuma, and Kyōtō there is no keramic production of Japan better known than the Kutani-yaki. The origin of this ware is attributed to Maeda Toshiharu, feudal lord of Daishōji, who is said to have discovered a bed of excellent porcelain stone at the foot of a hill called Dainichi, near the village of Kutani. This event occurred during the Keian era (1648–1651). Some authorities maintain that no keramic industry existed in Kaga previous to that time, and derive confirmation of their view from the isolated position of the province, lying as it does on the extreme west of Japan, and being separated by a lofty range of mountains from Kyōtō, the centre of luxury and art patronage. More accurate investigations show, however, that a pottery kiln had existed at Suizaka (now called Kurose), in the vicinity of Daishōji, for fully half a century before the time of Maeda Toshiharu. The wares produced there—Suizaka-yaki—were faience of the Seto type; that is to say, pottery of dark, coarse pâte, covered with mahogany coloured or reddish brown glaze. The change that Maeda Toshiharu sought to inaugurate was the manufacture of porcelain, an industry for which Hizen had already acquired an enviable repu-
236
