Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/176

 rather than of deliberate effort. The potters of Nawashiro and Tadeno never set themselves the task of manufacturing porcelain. The first person to undertake such work in the Satsuma fief was Ono Genriu-in, or Genriu-bo, a priest, who resided at Nishi-yoda in the Chōsa district of Osumi province. Ono was an ardent virtuoso. Perceiving that although the Satsuma fief possessed potters of ability, local consumption was chiefly supplied by wares imported from

Hizen, he conceived the idea of establishing a kiln for the manufacture of porcelain. A capitalist was easily induced to embark in the enterprise, as also was an amateur keramist of some skill, Noda Kichiemon. Information as to the methods of porcelain manufacture was supplied by a potter called Kitamura Denzaemon, who had once been employed at the Sarayama factory in Hizen and was now working in a mine. After some preliminary essays on a small scale, official permission was obtained to establish a kiln, and a considerable grant of money was made by the prince of the house of Shimazu. These things happened in