NEWSLETTER : March 2006 - Edition Number 144
CONTENTS OF THIS ISSUE
From the President
Meetings
What's on??
Book Review
On-glaze Fired Japanese Decoration
From the President
The next two months will be exciting with three very fine speakers and our Warburton Study weekend.
We are delighted that we have been offered Simon Cottle by Sotheby’s Australia. Simon is visiting Australia for a few days and has arranged to stay a few days longer so that he can speak to our April meeting. Simon works for Sotheby’s in England and Europe and will be speaking to us on European glass. In twenty-two years the Circle has never had an opportunity to hear a lecture on this subject. He is a very experienced lecturer and author.
A very special night on Anzac Day (April 25th) will be a lecture by Felicity Marno on James Giles and his decoration of 18th century porcelain and glass. Many of you will have bought a catalogue of an exhibition in London of James Giles’ work in which Felicity was closely involved. This should be a most informative and fascinating night. If you own pieces that you believe to be James Giles decorated, you might like to bring them and we will set up a small exhibition on the night.
The May meeting’s speaker will be Terence Lockart who will speak on 18th century English creamware. Terry is an eminent English authority and has written and lectured extensively for many years and is a past president of the Northern Ceramic Society of England.
The last but by no means the least of the special events in this two-month period is our annual study weekend at Warburton. During the course of the weekend we will study ‘the inspiration for and the creativity of 18th century porcelain figures’. We are preparing for you a most exciting weekend where you will have the opportunity to better understand this extraordinary phenomenon of the 18th century. The programme will include the historic background, the periods in which the figures were made, manufacturing techniques and the subject material that inspired the figures. As always there will be time to relax and get to know members better in the beautiful surroundings of the Yarra Valley. A booking form is enclosed and I suggest that you respond quickly as the number of places is strictly limited.
Your Committee at its first meeting since the AGM elected office bearers and these are listed on page two of this newsletter.
Patricia Begg O.A.M.
President, March 2006
Circle Meetings
April 2006
This will be held on Tuesday, 11th April 2006 at 7.30pm and will feature Simon Cottle, Sotheby’s Head of European Ceramics and Glass, London, speaking on “European Glass”. Simon nurtured an interest in antique glass and ceramics whilst studying at University College, Cardiff, and Washington State University. Following post-graduate study in Manchester he worked for 10 years as a Decorative Arts curator at repositories such as the Geffrye Museum, London; the Laing Art Gallery, Newcastle; the Glasgow Museum and Art Gallery and the Burrell Collection, organizing several international glass and ceramics exhibitions. Simon joined Sotheby’s in 1990, taking auctions from 1995. He has discovered rare Venetian and Mediaeval goblets, as well as an exceptionally rare Dresden goblet and cover made for the King of Poland c.1710 and which sold for 120,000 pounds in June 2000. Simon has also written several books including “Sotheby’s Concise Encyclopaedia of Glass” as well as contributing to many other titles and publications. This erudite speaker is not to be missed.
Venue:
Melbourne / South Yarra Community Centre
Fawkner Park
65 Toorak Road West
South Yarra 3141
April 2006 - Additional Meeting
On Tuesday 25th April at 7.30pm (the ANZAC Day public holiday), well-known London based ceramics expert Felicity Marno will speak to the Circle on “James Giles, China and Glass Painter”. Felicity will discuss this china painter’s unique contribution to English porcelain decoration after having staged a successful exhibition of his work in London in June 2005.
Venue:
Melbourne / South Yarra Community Centre
Fawkner Park
65 Toorak Road West
South Yarra 3141
May 2006
This will be held on Tuesday, 9th May 2006 at 7.30pm and will feature Terence Lockett, a former President of the Northern Ceramic Society in England, speaking on “Eighteenth Century Creamwares”.
Venue:
Melbourne / South Yarra Community Centre
Fawkner Park
65 Toorak Road West
South Yarra 3141
WARBURTON STUDY WEEKEND
The Circle's annual study weekend will again be held at the Yarra Valley Grange Country Retreat at Warburton commencing on Friday 27th May. The topic for this year's weekend study retreat is ‘the inspiration for and the creativity of 18th century porcelain figures’. A fascinating programme has been devised for this stimulating event and a booking form is enclosed with this Newsletter.
What's on??
ENGLISH CERAMIC CIRCLE’S SUMMER EXHIBITION
“BRITISH SAUCEBOATS, 1720-1850”
The English Ceramic Circle is having an important loan exhibition in London this summer, on “British Sauceboats, 1720-1850”. It will be held from 8th – 17th June.
All the items will be from private collections and many have never been on display in public before. The Exhibition will show the development of ceramic sauceboat through the 18th to the early 19th century.
There will be both pottery and porcelain examples. In some cases the Continental or silver prototypes will be displayed with the British example, giving a fascinating insight into the cross-cultural influences that played such a vital role in 18th Century style and design.
Date: 8th – 17th June 2006
At: Stockspring Antiques, 114 Kensington Church St, London W8 4BH
Tel: +44 (0) 207 727 7995
Email: stockspring@antique-porcelain.co.uk
At the Hamilton Art Gallery
107 Brown Street, Hamilton
To commemorate the 30th anniversary of the NARA Treaty of Friendship and Co-Operation, a series of exchanges are planned this year between Australia and Japan. The Hamilton Art Gallery will stage a number of exhibitions looking at various aspects of the arts in Japan, including metalwork, swords, lacquer and ceramics. A Seminar is being held during 12th to 14th May; for details please contact the Hamilton Art Gallery on (03) 5573 0460.
Japanese Jewellery and Metalwork
By renowned metal artist Kaneko Toru and post graduate students. Sponsored by Tohoku University of Art & Design, Yamagata, Japan and Lesley Kehoe Galleries, Melbourne.
Contemporary works have been borrowed to show the approaches these brilliant metalsmiths have taken in using both precious and non-precious materials.
Until 7th May 2006
At the Immigration Museum
400 Flinders Street, Melbourne
GREEK TREASURES from the Benaki Museum in Athens
This features over 160 objects including exquisite ceramics, embroidered textiles, figurines, oil paintings and Byzantine icons.
Until 28th May, 2006
At Woodbine Art
2644 Daylesford Road, Malmsbury
Exhibition of ceramics by Ann Geroe from 2nd to 30th April
At QDOS Art
Allenvale Road, Lorne
Exhibition of ceramics by Eliza Feely from 25th March to 12th April
Book Review
Dolan, B., Josiah Wedgwood, London, 2005
I have always come away from a Circle meeting having learnt something new, none more so than Robyn Ives’ presentation about Josiah Wedgwood and his wares. Memories of Josiah’s innovations and the beauty of the examples Robyn showed motivated my recent purchase of Brian Dolan’s biography simply titled Josiah Wedgwood. He has written a fascinating account of a life rather than of the pottery factory that Josiah made one of the first ‘brand names’ of the industrial world.
Dolan places Josiah into a family context of the humble branch looking up the hill at what might have been, were it not for the laws of primogeniture. Neither his grandfather nor his father exhibited the acumen that so distinguished Josiah but other members of the family taught him the rational values of a Unitarian Church that encouraged the spirit of enquiry and experimentation. What is especially interesting about this biography is the focus on the friendships and intellectual networks that were significant to Wedgwood’s innovations and personal development. Josiah was part of a circle that included Erasmus Darwin, Joseph Priestly, Joseph Wright and James Watt, a circle where Science and Art were part of a general conversation that earnt the period the label of ‘the Enlightenment’.
Dolan demonstrates the determination of Josiah to succeed but also his care to provide for those who were prepared to work to the discipline he required. His was an entrepreneurial paternalism that sought to diminish the environmental dangers to workers’ health that abounded in a pottery and in part motivated Josiah’s construction of a village for workers alongside Etruria Hall and his various benevolent schemes. Josiah’s concern with the impact of breakages on his costs encouraged an interest in canal development but again Dolan suggests Wedgwood was successful because of his ability to utilise a significant social network of connections. Dolan gives credit to the importance of Josiah’s marriage to his cousin Sally Wedgwood in providing a companion of taste, managerial capacity and emotional support.
This is a well written book that would be of interest to anyone keen to learn about the early period of the industrial revolution, the transformation of the Midlands or Josiah Wedgwood.
Merilyn Hoysted
On-glaze Fired Japanese Decoration
The following is a transcript of the talk given by Alistair Whyte at the CGCA Warburton 2005 study weekend.
I will begin by clarifying some terminology used:
- uwae - painting on top (the surface of a glaze)
- akae - painting in red
- iroe - multicolour painting overglaze decoration or alternatively, onglaze decoration
The production process, from a potter’s perspective entails, making a pot (either earthenware, stoneware or porcelain) and then firing it with an underglaze decoration if that is required for the final result, and glazing the ware. This is then followed by decorating the ware with overglaze colours on the surface of the fired glaze and firing again to a low temperature (usually less that biscuit temperature).
For this process to produce reliable results of excellence, knowledge, technical skill and experience are necessary. There is a stunning range of colours available to the industry as all china painters know, but not many artist potters use this medium. I am sure that this must result from ignorance of the easy availability and relative ease of application, or the notion that this is merely the realm of china painters.
I am approaching this subject from the perspective of oriental ceramics, and so wish now to look briefly at the historical background. In Japan (where I studied), on-glaze enamel painting began and was influenced by what transpired at the beginning of the Edo period. (The early sixteen hundreds). Japan had been a closed country due to a ruling by the Tokugawa Shogunate, except for a small flourishing trade through a few little ports in Kyushu’s Saga Province. (Mainly Imari, Hirado and Dejima) This province was under the control of the powerful Nabeshima clan.
Up until this time, the only examples of on-glaze enamel wares came from China and of these few were of high quality, because works of such quality were usually reserved for the Chinese Imperial court. Examples of Chinese enamel decoration go back as far as the Sung period, and by the Ming period it had become a highly developed art form. During the reign of the Ming Emperor Wan Li (1573-1619), much more porcelain found its way into Japan1. Also, the Japanese invasion of Korea by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in the 1590s played a vital role. Many Korean potters were brought back to help develop the local industry2. Among these were potters with experience in porcelain who assisted in discovering suitable porcelain clays. There is still academic argument over the origins of the discovery of porcelain in Japan as there is over the first use of enamels, but it is generally agreed that porcelain started to be made around 1616, and enamelled wares (in Japan) followed around 1646. The upheavals in China towards the end of the Ming period had also resulted in some Chinese refugees settling in the Nagasaki area, and it is quite likely that the secrets of on-glaze enamelling were learnt through these people3. At the time great secrecy surrounded the making of both porcelain and enamels. Despite this, the techniques spread to Kyoto where the famous artist Ninsei was one of the first to use enamels. Some sources even dare to say that he invented their usage in Japan4. He was certainly one of the first, along with Sakaida Kakiemon in Arita.
Kutani, in the province of Kaga, is said to have been producing its own distinctive range of enamelled wares. However there is much controversy over this claim, as no early kiln sites have yet been found that have any examples of enamel ware. There is a plausible story that Goto Sajiro, was sent by his master from Kanazawa to Arita between 1658 and 1660 to work at the Kakiemon kiln in order to steal the secrets of enamelling.5
Kakiemon is a name that is widely associated with enamel decoration, especially in Europe as a result of overseas trade through the Dutch East India Company. There is a story that Sakaida Kizaemon made an ornament for Nabeshima Katsushige in the form of two persimmons (Kaki), which so pleased the daimyo, that he conferred upon him the nickname of Kakiemon, which was adopted by him and his successors.6
Kakiemon ware cannot be confined to the work of one man or even one family. The first Kakiemon is said to have been a kama-nushi (kiln owner), and it may not have been until the third or fourth generation of Kakiemons that they took a greater part in the potting or painting.7 So what we are looking at is a style of enamel wares and the careful maintaining of quality over succeeding generations under the control of one family. It is interesting that early Imari (Ko-Imari), Kakiemon and Ko-Kutani wares are very hard to distinguish from each other, giving rise to some theories that early Kutani wares were made in Arita.8
Quite a lot is known about the early Kakiemon family thanks to of old family records being kept. Many of the early wares are not distinctively Japanese, as there was much copying of Chinese Ming dynasty decoration and is was not until around the 1670s that fairly distinct differences in style began to emerge.9 The Kakiemon style is distinguished by considerable quality control. Many pieces have their rims painted with iron red before glaze firing. There is also evidence of the indirect incorporation of the Sotatsu and Korin styles of painting. Painting is well balanced between the decorated and negative areas, and shows other influences from Japanese folding screens, fan painting, and maki-e lacquer designs.
Imari ware is a more general term for porcelains produced in the Arita area and traded through the port of Imari. With the introduction of enamels, Imari ware became a commercial success. This was partly due to Japanese demand as well as trade with the Dutch. However international politics also played its part, because, due to the turmoil in China at the end of the Ming dynasty, porcelain production was disrupted and the Dutch turned to the new growing capacity of the Japanese porcelain makers to satisfy the demand in Europe.10 By late Edo period, Imari wares could be found all over Japan. “There was hardly a single house that did not own an Imari oil lamp- either a cobalt blue underglazed piece with plum, pine or bamboo brass motif, or a polychrome enamelled piece with a floral design”.11 These wares cannot be narrowed down to a few isolated kilns. In the late 17th century there were upwards of 200 pottery households in and around Arita. Of these at least sixteen households specialized in enamel decorating and the other Potteries sent their wares to them to be decorated. The secrets of the enamel workshops were carefully guarded. It appears that materials such as the underglaze gosu (cobalt blue), and the materials for overglaze enamels were largely imported from overseas, i.e. China, and in the case of some of the colours, from the Near East. It has been revealed by the present Kakiemon that their enamels are still obtained from abroad, though how they are obtained and mixed remains a trade secret.12
Nabeshima ware Late 17th Century
Nabeshima wares have rather a different history in that until the Meji period, they were never made for sale. They came from the privately controlled kiln of the Nabeshima clan, where the very best of artisans were assembled. They were given samurai status and were looked after by the Nabeshima Lord, receiving clothing, food and housing. In return they had to produce the very best quality porcelain possible, to be used as gifts for the shogun and other feudal lords, as well as for the Nabeshima family’s own personal use. Nabeshima pieces are now regarded as masterpieces of ceramic art of high technical excellence, and are greatly treasured.13 Their coloured wares were made using only three colours; red, green and yellow, - apart from the underglaze blue. For all the perfection of these wares, their forms were standardized and left little room for artistic freedom. However, this was the world of traditional craftsmanship.14
After the replacement of the feudal system with the coming to power of the Meiji government, the Nabeshima clan kiln shut down. Only recently the Imaizumi family15, now led by the thirteenth generation Imaemon, have rediscovered the long-forgotten technique of enamelled Nabeshima ware.
Of much interest (and an area of scholarship that is still open to much conjecture) are the wares of Ko-Kutani. (Early Kutani wares) The province of Kaga was the domain of the powerful Maeda family, and it is known that considerable quantities of Chinese ware were imported via Hirado and Nagasaki. Among these wares were many late Ming and early Ching overglaze enamel porcelains.16 The demand for this kind of ware was high possibly prompting local Japanese craftsmen to make similar wares to suit local taste. Early Kutani wares are significant for their strong vital colours and rich use of design, in keeping with current themes of early Edo style. They have been described as the strongest and most vital of Japanese decorated porcelains, “filled with an almost modern sense of, and lust for, life”.17 There is, however, some dispute among scholars as to whether enamelled Ko Kutani wares existed as a separate style produced in Kaga or whether in fact these wares were the products of Kakiemons I,II,&III, made at Arita for the Maeda family.18 What is evident however, is that after the kilns shut down and later restarted towards the end of the Edo period (around 1824), the quality of the wares were no longer comparable to the vital quality of the earlier work. So while there is still conjecture, the beauty of these early pieces is still there for us to see.
Lastly there are the on-glaze enamels of Kyoto to consider. Here in this centre of courtly culture was the enamel work of Ninsei (Nonomura Seiemon). He was certainly among the first to make use of enamels in Japan, and also one of the first to sign his ware. Along with Ninsei there were names such as Ogata Kenzan, Aoki Mokube, Okuda Eisen, Ninnami Dohachi and Eiraku Hozen. It could be said that Kyoto is the birth place of the artist potter. Ninsei’s pots were decorated in Japanese style (he had studied in the Tosa and Kano schools of art), and were almost exclusively made for the tea ceremony. His work is characterised by his tea jars overlaid with pictorial enamel decoration. His range of colours included gold, silver, red, blue, yellow, green, purple and black, and largely as a result of his influence, Kyoto became one of the main centres for surface decoration19 (for flat wares and bold sketchy designs). 20Eisen in Kenzan is another enamel painter of note (though on low temperature wares)21, and again made largely for the tea ceremony. (He had a preference known for his red and green painting in enamels on porcelain (in a Chinese style), though it has been said that he was more famous for being the teacher of Mokube and Dohachi than for his own wares.22 Of the Edo potters in Kyoto, Aoki Mokube, was an extraordinary man of many talents. His moulded and wheel thrown teapots are still held in high regard. His work in on-glaze enamels on porcelain was in the Ming style, and is said to have been indistinguishable from Chinese originals. He was among the first potters to sign their wares. His inscription is usually the stamp, Mokubei, within two rings.23
Having looked briefly at the beginnings of Japanese on-glaze enamels, it should be understood that, outside the main areas of Imari, Kutani and Kyoto, very little was done in the way of coloured enamel decoration for a considerable time. This was partly due to the secrecy surrounding the techniques used and the difficult availability of materials and colours. However, over time, this changed and now on-glaze enamel use is widely used throughout Japan. At the end of the Edo period in 1867 and after the World Exposition in Paris, Usaburo Shimizu acquired some German on-glaze colour materials and introduced them to Japan. These metallic oxide powders made possible much thinner on-glaze painting than could be achieved with traditional oriental vitreous enamels. The main centres of on-glaze painting still exist, and secrecy still surrounds the use of certain colours by famous artists and workshops. Many of the mysteries of the art and techniques have been revealed in books. (Onishi’s, “Ceramic Tradition and Technique”, being but one example).
There is a long list of recent artists of note in this field; the most prominent deserve some mention. These include: Tomimoto Kenkichi, Fujimono Kitaoji Rosanjin, Imaizumi Imaemon 13th, Stadia Kakiemon 13th, Tokuda Yasokichi, Kitade Fujio, Hamada Shoji and Ishiguro Munemaru. Of these potters, I mention only three, whose retrospective exhibitions I saw in Japan; Tomimoto Kenkichi, Kitaoji Rosanjin and Ishiguro Munemaru. All of these played significant roles in the development of artist potters in Japan in recent times. Tomimoto has been called the father of artist potters in Japan (though some professionals regard him as having been an amateur).24
Kitaoji Rosanjin
Tomimoto Kenkichi (1886-1963)
Tomimoto studied architectural design at Tokyo Academy of Fine Arts, after which he travelled to England where he continued his studies for a further three years. During this time he made a detailed study of the work in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Upon returning to Japan he met Bernard Leach, who had gone to Japan to teach the etching process. These two became good friends and it was at a ‘Raku’ party that their interest in ceramics began. Leach encouraged Tomimoto to join him as a fellow disciple (deshi) of Kenzan 6, and this proved the impetus necessary for Tomimoto to devote himself to the pursuit of ceramics. “Rich creative individuality and Lucidity of expression characterise his works, which are generally of white glazed ware or multicoloured overglaze decorated porcelain. Indeed, whether he uses decorations or not, his ceramics are precise and exact to a degree rare in modern pottery. For this reason, he can be considered truly outstanding among his contemporaries. Throughout his career, he abided by the dictum that designs should not be copied from other designs but should be based on direct observation. His honest straight forward attitude influenced not only Japanese ceramics, but many other fields of Japanese crafts as well”.25
He learnt his on-glaze techniques from the Kutani kilns around 1936 and then turned to active production. He also perfected the technique of simultaneous firing of patterns in both gold and silver and produced elegant, graceful fern designs in metallic foil. He was among the first people to be honoured with the title of National Living Treasure for his multicoloured on-glaze decorated porcelain. Apart from his distinguished career as an artist and founding member of the Japan Arts and Crafts Association, he also became a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, and then later, after moving to Kyoto he became a professor at the Kyoto Academy of Fine Arts. Upon his death in 1963 he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun. He has been described as the greatest of the modern Japanese potters to specialize in porcelain, although he worked in earthenware and stoneware as well.26
Kitaoji Rosanjin (1883-1959)
Kitaoji Rosanjin had a most varied career and lived extravagantly. Apart from being a potter, he was famed as a calligrapher, an epicure and connoisseur of fine cooking. (He also had five wives during his lifetime). His interests in ceramics included; white blaze, blue and white glaze, and overglaze, and he worked in the styles of Shino, Oribe, Shigaraki and Bizen wares. His reproductions of antique on-glaze pieces have often been regarded as surpassing the originals. His on-glaze style is very distinctive and original. In 1946 he opened a shop called Kadokado bibo in Ginza, Tokyo, for the direct sale of his own wares. He began to design and produce ceramics partly through his passion for fine Japanese food and his conviction that the ceramics of his day were inadequate for serving it.27
The potter Hamada Shoji criticized Rosanjin as “merely a decorator, not a potter’, because assistants did much of the routine production work, though in fact this practice had been standard in earlier periods. In any case Rosanjin designed all his own pieces, closely supervised the throwing and did the brushwork decoration himself.28
Ishiguro Munemaru (1893 - 1968)
Ishiguro was a solitary potter who worked at Yase in Kyoto living very much the life of a recluse. He is not well known in Japan, and even less outside the country. His work only came to my attention when some friends at University urged me to see a retrospective exhibition of his work. He was among the first, along with Tomimoto to be honoured with “Important Intangible Cultural Property”, (Living National Treasure). This being largely for his special tenmoku glaze technique. However, the most amazing aspect of his work is the wide variety of techniques that he worked in. The following is a list of some of the styles that he made his own:
Japanese wares; Raku Shigaraki, Iga, Karatsu, Oribe & Etchu-seto.
Korean style; Mishima, Hakeme, Kohiki, Ido & Kurogorai.
Chinese style wares; Chun, Tang three coloured ware, Thou wares, White porcelain, Sung enamel decorated porcelain, Honan Tenmoku & Celadons of various styles. In regard to his many sided techniques it has been said that he is unsurpassed by any other modern ceramic artist.29
On Glaze Enamels
On-glaze enamels are essentially low fired glazes, usually fired somewhere between 700 and 900 degrees Celsius. They are applied to already glazed surfaces, to which they adhere when fired. The usual source for these is in a powder form, ready mixed from a supplier. Because of the label China Paints, they are often disregarded as belonging to the realm those engaged in china painting. This is most unfortunate, as the potential is there for much wider use. Their bright clear colours can be used for decoration or the highlighting of decoration in ways that no other materials or techniques offer. They open up new avenues of expression to the artist potter.
Traditionally these powders are mixed with an adhesive, usually a volatile oil or gum. This is to enable ease of application and quick drying. Firing temperatures can vary according to colour, however, suppliers usually provide this information with their products. Mediums are also available to wipe the glazed surface before application of on-glaze enamels to assist in the adhesion of thick enamels. (Gelatine dissolved in hot water can be used for this purpose).
Enamels are essentially composed of the same materials as all glazes. The biggest difference is the firing temperature, which dictates what sorts of fluxes are needed in order to melt at such low temperatures. This usually entails the use of materials such as lead, borax, boric acid and colemanite or prepared frits. Enamels that do not contain lead can be fired in reduction to extend the colour range. Those containing lead are likely to bubble and blister in reduction firings. The usual firing method is in an oxidating atmosphere in an electric kiln.
While it is not difficult to purchase ready prepared enamels, it is important to understand how they are made. The lead used in enamel recipes is usually lead carbonate or white lead, but any enamels containing lead are potentially hazardous. They are best used on the outside of containers or only on decorative pieces.
Alistair then gave numerous examples of enamel recipes from publications including the “Handbook for Australian Potters” and “The Ceramic Spectrum” by Robin Hopper. The Japanese approach to enamel recipes was covered in a small discussion paper from Imari Toen near Arita in the Saga prefecture in Kyushu Japan which Alistair had translated.
As can be seen from the above recipes, the materials necessary for on-glaze enamels are not great in number. The difficulties arise more in obtaining some of the materials (lead being an illegal substance). Other difficulties are in the mixing as well as in the techniques of application and firing. As may be evident from the Japanese translation, many of the ingredients are from local sources, and while it gives us some insight into the preparation and mixing of enamels, it might prove difficult to obtain some of the ingredients. However aspects such as the method of preparation and the use of tea incrustations in the preparation and use of on-glaze enamels could prove useful to Australia potters. As you may have gathered, these enamels are all water based.
Footnotes:
Select Bibliography:
Nagatake,T. Kakiemon (Famous Ceramics of Japan series), Tokyo, Kodansha, 1981
Nagatake, T. Imari, Kodansha, Tokyo. 1982
Imaizumi, M.Nabeshima, Kodansha, Tokyo, 1981
Jenyns, S. Japanese Porcelain, Faber & Faber, London, 1995
Jenyns, S. Japanese Pottery, Faber & Faber, London, 1971
Leach, B.A Potters Book, Faber & Faber, London, 1940, (1971 edn.)
Conrad, J. Ceramic Formulas: The Complete Compendium, Macmillan, 1973 (1974 edn.)
Hopper, R. The Ceramic Spectrum, Collins, London, 1984
Hogber C. (editor) The Art of Bernard Leach, Faber & Faber, London. 1978
Sanders, H. The World of Japanese Ceramics, Kodansha, Tokyo, 1967 (1972 edn.)
National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, Gage, R. (translator), Japanese Painted Porcelain, Weatherhill/Tankosha, Tokyo, 1980
Exhibition Catalogue: Ishiguro Munemaru, The Creative Spirit of his Ceramic Art, Organized by The National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo and Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum.
Exhibition Catalogue: Japanese Ceramics from the Morse Collection, Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Tokyo Exhibition 1980
Onishi. Ceramic Tradition and Technique (In Japanese) 1978
Gorham, H. Japanese and Oriental Ceramics, Charles & Tuttle, Tokyo, 1971, (1975 edn.)
Mikami, T. The Art of Japanese Ceramics, Heibonsha, Tokyo, 1972 (1976 edn.) Japan Craft Design Association, Craft in Japan, 1978