JAPAN
existence of any kilns before the Dai-ei era (1521-1527). A factory was then established at Shidoro-mura, and subsequently (about 1720) removed to Yoko-oka-mura. The productions were of coarse, rough character—red stone-ware covered with thin, uneven glaze of light brown-ochre colour—until the close of the sixteenth century, when some experts from Seto (in Owari) came to the province. Specimens attributed to this period (1590-1670) show plainly that the Seto style was taken as a model. Lustrous black and golden-brown glazes, laid on in two or three coats, replaced the thin brown-ochre glaze previously employed, and tea-utensils of the most approved shapes made their appearance. A little later on (1680), the influence of Kobori Masakazu, lord of Enshiu, produced its effects. The brown-ochre glaze re-appeared, now, however, variegated by patches of yellow; and very dark green was added to the colours already existing. The clay was coarse and of dull red tinge, differing but little from that found in the inferior varieties of Imbe (Bizen) ware. In 1720, as has been said, the factory was moved from the district of Shidoro to that of Yoko-oka, and from that time the pieces were for the most part stamped with the characters (Shidoro-yaki). The manufacture, no longer confined to the old grooves, was gradually modified, till in late years claret coloured and green glazes, after the so-called Cochin-China fashion, were produced, and finally even the Kyōtō school was represented by small pieces with white pâte and decoration in gold and coloured enamels. Another variety, called Karafu, was obtained by mixing charcoal ashes or powdered pebbles with the glazing material, the result being a dull mottled surface more
334
