Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/158

 were thus divided into two sections,—a fact which it is essential to note in order to arrive at a clear idea of the early history of the Satsuma ware. The section that repaired to Hiuga was headed by Hōchiu; the section that remained in Sasshiu was under the direction of Boku Heii. It will be convenient to speak of the former first.

The date of the transfer of Hōchiu and his comrades to Chōsa is placed in 1598. They established a factory in a district called Nabekura, under the immediate patronage of Yoshihiro. The wares which they manufactured at first were pottery and faience after Korean methods; that is to say, ware having brownish or reddish brown pâte, translucid, colourless glaze, and archaic ornamentation consisting of incised designs filled with white slip under the glaze. These pieces are purely traditional. None survive that can be identified with certainty as the early work of the Chōsa potters. Within a very short time of their settlement at Chōsa, they began to manufacture faience without any parallel among Korean productions. It is difficult to account for the ability they developed, unless, indeed, an explanation is furnished by the fact that until their arrival in Japan they had enjoyed no opportunity of examining the works of Chinese keramists. Prince Yoshihiro was a collector on a magnificent scale. Among his treasures numerous masterpieces of the Middle Kingdom were included, and it was his pleasure to offer these as models for the potters at the new factory. So much interest did he take in the work that whenever a specimen of exceptional excellence was turned out, he made a practice of stamping it with his own seal,—an honour not easily appreciated without some knowledge of the