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Only during a short period, at the beginning of the century, Kutani ceramics
have been exported to Europe. Therefore Kutani ceramics are barely known
overseas. It means that it was and remains a really typical Japanese ceramic.Today
the production is mainly concentrated around Terai. Kutani village, in
Terai is very representative of the local success of this pottery. Kanazawa
and more specially Yamashiro areas are very famous for the 'Onsen' or
hot thermal sources, and all year around quantity of tourists are coming
to visit the area and of course will buy souvenirs. The main roads from
Kanazawa to Daishoji or Yamashiro are full of Kutani souvenir shops or
kilns which are selling pottery. We can even found easily in these shops
pottery made by famous modern potters. The whole area is living partially
on Kutani business and more than 700 potters are today operating in the
areas.
If we look at today pottery style, one can find almost every imaginable
colors and designs from ultra modern to exact replica of old Kutani. A
good example of modern Kutani style can be seen in Terai in the Asakura
Isokichi museum where pottery of uncommon shape, size and colors
can be found. Of course some other famous potters have also experimented,
I can not say to improve, but to give an other direction or volume to
their art. This is also the case for Kitade
Fujio.
On the other hand there are still many potters who try to continue in
the original Kutani style, and succeed very well in completing beautiful
pieces in some case using slightly different colors than the 5 original
Kutani colors, Mitsui Tamekichi
the 3rd has very well succeeded in giving a touch of modern
style but in keeping the original feeling one can have in looking or touching
a beautiful piece. Nakamura Tochito excels in using modern colors such
as brown, white.. with original or at least in keeping the essence of
the original Kutani.
One other technic which has developed recently is to paint on flat square
or rectangular plates or tiles used mainly for decoration. Asakura Isokichi
has made in such a way a complete wall of several 10th of square meters
in a famous Onsen in Yamashiro area.
However may be the most "advanced" painter is certainly Tokuda
Yasokichi 3rd which has developed a completely different method
where the colors are so bright and shining that there is no more comparison
nor relation with the traditional 5 colors Kutani produced up to date.
Finally there is still a small number of potters who continue a very particular
style of Kutani, I want to talk about 'red detail paint' or in Japanese
Akae saimitsubyo, their are painstakingly pursuing and maintaining the
old style and there is almost no way to distinguish a modern copy from
an old original one, except that may be their are too beautiful, too regular
or too perfect, the small irregularities or defects found on old pieces
are therefore not there. But their are not so common as the time required
to complete a piece is so long that their price is quite prohibitive and
out of the range of most of the collectors. A good artist is today Nakamura
xxx who has reached perfection in Akae style.
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