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[Illustration: Old Wrought Iron Gates, Guildhall.]

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THE POTTERY AND PORCELAIN INDUSTRIES OF JAPAN.


Japanese chronicles claim that the first pottery was made in the year
660 B.C.; it was not, however, until the Christian era that the art made
any considerable advances. In the year 1223 A.D., great improvements
were made in manufacture and decoration of the ware. From that date to
the sixteenth century the great potteries of Owari, Hizen, Mino, Kioto,
Kaga, and Satsuma were established. The Rahn-Yaki, or crackled ware, was
first made at Kioto, at the commencement of the sixteenth century. The
best old Hizen ware, that which is still the most admired, was made
at Arita Hizen, in 1580 to 1585; the old Satsuma dates from 1592.
Consul-General Van Buren states that porcelain clays are found in nearly
all parts of the country, and the different kinds are usually found
in close proximity, and close to canals and rivers, which is of
considerable advantage, as affording a means of transport. In all cases
every variety of clay used in the manufacture of pottery is found in a
natural state; there is no necessity to manufacture the quartzose or
fusible clays as is done in other parts of the world, and which adds
considerably to the cost of the ware. One of the peculiarities in the