Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/366

 time attached to the Kōshō-gaisha, a trading company partly supported by the Government, visited Izumo and induced the potters to resume their industry. In honour of his initiative and assistance, the name of the re-established factory was changed from "Rakuzan to "Jakuzan" (Jaku is the alternative sound of the ideograph Wakai). Two faiences were and are still manufactured; the one in considerable quantities, the other rarely and with less success. The former is the well-known variety mentioned at the beginning of this section—yellow glaze with decorations in gold, red, and green—the latter the beautiful aventurine glaze. Both are inferior to their prototypes of Fumai's time, their technique being less careful and their glazes wanting in richness and solidity. On the other hand, these modern specimens are of a much more imposing and decorative character than anything formerly produced.

Since 1873 porcelain has been included among the manufactures of Izumo. Its production was originated by Hadano Soemon, a merchant of Shimmachi, in the Nogi district of Izumo. This man procured the services of an expert called Madasuke, from the province of Tajima, and constructed a kiln for him at Shiotani. Two varieties of stone and a clay, all found in the neighbourhood, were employed. The ware requires no special description. It is blue-and-white porcelain of mediocre quality.

It is convenient to speak here of the porcelain manufactured in Iwami, a neighbouring province of Izumo. It had its origin in 1860, when two brothers, Noda Shota and Noda Genzo, discovered porcelain