Page:Brinkley - Japan - Volume 8.djvu/435

 quently Miyazawa struck out a line of his own, in which he attained considerable reputation. His conception was to supplement by plastic additions the ordinary style of faience decoration in coloured pigments and enamels. This new variety of ware was known as Makuzu-yaki. It was rather bizarre than beautiful. Almost every object in nature, the nude human figure alone excepted, might be found moulded in high relief on vases, pots, and jars—sages, storks, sparrows, bamboos, reptiles, fishes, and flowers. Not a few specimens were marvels of patient skill, and in consequence attracted a fair share of public patronage. But, in truth, that can scarcely be counted art which chooses a material so fragile for the elaboration of details so easily marred by accident. The chefs-d'œuvre of the Ota factory were monstrosities never tolerated by Japanese connoisseurs and soon rejected by foreign buyers. Two clays were used in their manufacture, one obtained in the province of Izu, the other from the banks of the Tamagawa, in the province of Musashi—in which Yokohama is situated. The former is a well-known clay—consisting of disintegrated porphyry—which is largely used in Tōkyō for the manufacture of fire-proof bricks. The constituents of the Makuzu faience mass are as follows:—

It will be observed that this faience has a distinctive composition; it contains more clay-earth and less alkali and iron oxide than any other Japanese faience. Its mass is pronounced by M. Korschelt to be the whitest and best in Japan. But if this be true of the