Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/260

 Four specimens of Kyōtō porcelain masses have been analysed by Mr. Korschelt. The results of his examination, in the case of the specimens which differed most, are as follows:—

To the above mixture of materials from Hizen and Omi, there is added one-half of a volume-part of washed charcoal-powder. Mr. Korschelt suggests that this addition of charcoal may be intended to make the ware more porous, and that it is probably resorted to only in the case of articles which are especially likely to undergo change of form in the kiln. According to the same authority, the porcelain of Kyōtō has a closer resemblance than that of Owari to the European article, but is nevertheless a special kind of ware so far as the raw materials are concerned, its average composition being felspar 33.07, clay substance 29.89, and quartz 35.56. The Kyōtō product is whiter and finer than that of Owari, but yields to the latter in point of transparency.

It will be convenient to note here that among Japanese porcelains six different kinds may be distinguished. Their names and average constituents are as follows:—

Each of the principal manufacturing districts in Kyōtō—as Awata, Gojō, and Kyōmizu—has a large kiln where the first baking of the pieces is performed. This kiln consists of a series of arched ovens, arranged one above the other on an inclined plane. The furnace is at the bottom of the tier, and the caloric passes from vault to vault by square, lateral