Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/350




 * 1) Tokubei, or Tōshiro; died (about) 1690.


 * 1) Torosuke; died (about) 1760. It is said that this artist travelled to Yedo, and learned the method of manufacturing Raku faience.

In recent years the manufacture of Yatsushiro faience, after a period of comparative cessation, has been actively revived. The best specimens now produced are carefully and artistically made, but fall short of the old ware in lustre and delicacy. Six varieties of clay are used to form the pâte and glaze. They are all found within the boundaries of Higo, and are named after the localities where they exist.

As is the case with nearly all Japanese wares, good specimens of early Yatsushiro-yaki are generally small and insignificant. Vases are rarely, if ever, found: they belong to a comparatively late period of manufacture. Censers, cups, bowls, and small dishes make up the total of procurable examples. Decoration over the glaze was never employed: such an addition indicates a piece destined for the foreign market. Within the past twenty years many modern