Page:Brinkley - China - Volume 1.djvu/99

 pieces of gold, or about a hundred and fifty thousand pounds sterling. At any rate, the specimen was unanimously elevated to the rank of a standard, and thenceforth the best pieces of céladon were designated Kinuta-Seiji. At about the same time, another variety, of scarcely inferior quality, made its appearance. Its pâte and lustre were equal to those of the Kinuta class, but the colour was a little deeper, and many of the specimens had designs in relief or incised. The pattern held in the highest favour represented a scroll of peonies, but choice pieces, both in this and the former variety, were also distinguished by two fishes on the bottom, in high relief. This ware received the name of Tenriu-Seiji, in allusion to the fact that the first vase which came to Japan was presented to the Temple of Tenriu. A third variety—the sea-green of Western collectors—had coarse pâte, deeper and less delicate colour, and thicker glaze than either the Kinuta or Tenriuji. This was called the Shichi-kan-Seiji, a name derived from the rank of an official who first imported it into Japan. It is distinguished from the more prized varieties by its fuller green tint as well as by its greater solidity and heaviness.

Many are the pieces of céladon that have been handed down, as priceless heirlooms, from generation to generation in Japanese families. One, which still forms the gem of a well-known nobleman's fine collection, is the Chidori no koro, or Peewit Censer. Originally the property of the Regent Yoshimasa, it afterwards came into the possession of Hideyoshi, the Taikô, whose life it is said to have saved by a miraculous power of uttering a warning cry when danger was at hand. The legend relates that supernatural quality was firmly credited by the men of the time,