Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 7.djvu/362

 to decorate the interior of the "Palace of Pleasure" at Fushimi, and those engaged upon the mausolea of the Tokugawa, used enamels very effectively in subordinate positions. It has been suggested that the work of this kind was entrusted by the Taikō to Korean experts, and there is no doubt that the process of cloisonné enamelling was well understood by the Koreans in the sixteenth century, if not earlier. They used twisted wire to form the cloisons, in which respect their technique ranked below that of the Japanese; but they obtained finer colours, their purple especially being remarkable for purity and richness. Considering how large a debt Japanese applied art owed to Korean assistance at the close of the sixteenth century, and considering that, with the exception of the mirror of Shomu, mentioned above, there is scarcely any evidence pointing to the use of cloisonné enamels for decorative purposes in Japan prior to that epoch, it would certainly be rash to dismiss the theory of Korean instruction. Another suggestive fact is that the employment of enamels in the decoration of sword-furniture began at the same time. Its originator was Hirata Hikoshiro (art name Dōnin), and the representatives of his family, down to modern times, continued to use enamel in that way, their productions finding considerable favour. Indeed, the name "Hirata" became so intimately associated with work of this nature that in later times an erroneous theory found credence to the effect that Dōnin was the inventor of cloisonné enamel in Japan. The only credit justly belonging to the Hirata artists was that they applied enamels to sword-furniture, and that they alone could produce a white paste successfully.