Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/225

 Among the largest manufacturers of modern Awata faience is Tanzan Yoshitaro. Originally educated for the medical profession, he came to Kyōtō in 1854, and settling at Awata, devoted himself entirely to the potter's art. He is still alive, but the factory is now under the direction of his son, Tanzan Rokuro. These artists must unquestionably be classed among the most skilled of Japanese keramists. The pâte of their faience is fine, and the glaze has a peculiarly soft, creamy appearance that consorts prettily with chaste, delicately executed design of floral subjects, foliage, birds, monkeys, and so forth. They prefer neutral tints to brilliant colours, and instead of the jewel-like enamels of the old Awata school, they generally use russet or dark brown pigment. It is probable, however, that the name of Tanzan will be remembered chiefly in connection with pâte-sur-pâte decoration. The Tanzan faience of this class differs essentially from the well-known Warabi-de ware of Hōzan. In the latter the characteristic feature is bold arabesques and floral scrolls in high relief; in the former lace patterns, diapers, and archaic designs, in low relief, executed with extraordinary skill and minuteness. Some of Tanzan's best pieces of this class are as delicate and elaborate as mediæval illuminations. Their general aspect, however, is subdued, owing to the prevalence of a dead-leaf enamel particularly affected at the Tanzan pottery. Another specialty of the factory is its mottled glazes, resembling moss-agate or tortoise-shell. These generally play a subsidiary part. Where combined with pâte-sur-pâte decoration they produce a rich and pleasing effect. In Japan it is said of the Tanzans that they have more or less prostituted their art to foreign taste, a criticism that cannot be completely re-