The Origin of Ko-Kutani Porcelain: New Discoveries and a Reassessment

Abstract

The origin of Ko-Kutani porcelain and its decoration style have been debated for over a century. Despite the well-established theory that identified the wares as the result of porcelain production in Kaga (present-day Ishikawa Prefecture) in the 17th century, there still is no general agreement as to where they were first incepted and fired. In recent years, curatorial traditional criteria have formed the basis upon which a new theory has been gaining popularity in Japan, identifying Arita (present-day Saga Prefecture) as their actual place of birth. Such a new theory, however, has proven insufficient to cast new light on many of the unexplained facts that characterize the history of the wares. Furthermore, scientific evidence has been lacking, as no systematic analyses of the porcelains were carried out until the present work. In order to define univocally the dynamics behind this period of Japanese history, the most important and complete Ko-Kutani collection extant in Japan today (Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art) was analyzed by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF). The scientific investigation was also extended to the very scarce shards excavated at the Kaga kiln site and Nonomura Ninsei’s masterpieces. For the first time ever, the results herein presented clarify the missing points crucial to reaching a definitive conclusion.