Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/387

 sessed some innate ability, or whether, as a wealthy amateur, he was able to command the best materials and devote ample time to the manufacture of single pieces, it is certain that by the circle of friends who were so fortunate as to receive the products of his kiln he was pronounced one of the best artists of his day. Yet, like the majority of Japanese keramists, he was an imitator, not an originator. The thick unadorned Raku ware and ill-favoured Korean faiences supplied him with models that seemed not less worthy of reproduction than the delicate conceptions of Ninsei or the bold designs of Kenzan. In both directions, however, Gozaemon was successful; so successful that his fame reached the Court at Yedo, and a special order was sent to him from the Shōgun Iyenari (1786). No doubt such a commission incited the amateur to more than common exertions, for the proficiency he displayed induced the Shōgun to summon him to Yedo. He accordingly moved to Komme, in the northeast suburb of the Eastern Capital, where he already possessed a residence, and there pursued his keramic pastime under the patronage of the Court nobles, Iyenari himself sometimes condescending to visit Komme and watch the elaboration of results which he so much admired. The effect of all this upon Gozaemon's reputation can be easily conceived. His ware became the rage everywhere,—not, perhaps, for the sake of its merits alone, but also because of the difficulty men experienced in procuring it; for fame had made the artist capricious, and, since he did not work for gain, none but the favoured few might obtain specimens of his handicraft. He now no longer restricted himself to imitations of ancient models, but, giving the reins to his fancy,