Nearly 60 women lawmakers in Japan, including Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, have submitted a petition calling for more ...

The history of ceramics in Japan is intrinsically intertwined with cultural exchange. Like green tea, soba and udon noodles, the birthplace of Japanese ceramics is Kyushu, a historical hub of ...

Ko-Imari, or Old Imari, is celebrated for its refined shapes and its elaborate and brilliant hand-painted patterns. Exported for some 300 years, it was long treasured by the European nobility. This ...

Japan’s porcelains have enjoyed international renown since the 17th century. The high quality of the porcelain itself and the shapes and styles of the dishes and figurines, combined with the various ...

Today’s items from our readers offer a good look at how quality, rarity and hand-crafting affect the value of collectibles. The general categories of glass and china have seen significant price ...

A quiet Japanese town with a population of less than 20,000, Arita has been responsible for one of Japan’s most prestigious exports since the 17th century. Arita’s obsession with porcelain ware, ...

Japan first began producing porcelain during the early 17th century in Hizen Province, now the city of Arita in Saga Prefecture. Techniques from Korea were used with aesthetics influenced by Chinese ...

This year is ostensibly the 400th anniversary of Arita-yaki (Arita ware). An Arita city webpage tells us it was in 1616 that a forcibly relocated Korean farmer, Yi Sam-pyeong, discovered the white ...

Elephants are not native to Japan and these two examples would have been based on depictions in imported prints. For centuries only the Chinese knew how to make porcelain but by the 1300s the ...