Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/308

 faience of the second Tōshiro. The question possesses no importance from an artistic point of view.

The keramists of Owari, although they enjoyed the reputation of being the first potters of Japan, made no attempt to manufacture porcelain until more than a century and a half had elapsed from the date of its successful production in Hizen. The circumstances under which this notable addition was made to the industrial resources of the province are interesting.

In the year 1798, Tsugane Bunzaemon Taneomi, then governor of Atsuta, the port of Nagoya, received instructions from the chief of the province to reclaim a stretch of the foreshore. The work having been accomplished, a proclamation was issued offering free allotments to farmers. One day the governor visited the place on a tour of inspection, and observed among the new agriculturists a number of men who were evidently without experience in such business. On enquiry, it appeared that these men had come from Seto. The once flourishing potteries of the little town had long suffered from want of custom, and their owners were reduced to great straits. The situation was aggravated by an old law of the fief, forbidding more than one member of the potter's family to devote himself to his father's trade. Under these circumstances the offer of free allotments in the reclaimed district had been gladly embraced by many of the artisans. The governor summoned one of the latter to his residence; reminded him that the province had long been noted for its keramic productions, and urged him to return with his companion to Seto.