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Paper short abstract:

The life of potter Yabu Meizan (1853 – 1934) closely followed the historical course of Japan’s modern export ceramic industry. Meizan sought to achieve an overall harmony by utilizing copperplate printing to replicate “patterns” of flowers, birds and landscapes in a motif.

Paper long abstract:

The life of potter Yabu Meizan (1853 – 1934) closely followed the historical course of Japan’s modern export ceramic industry.

The following four points can be seen as features of Meizan’s works:

1. Designs were based on traditional stylings from Western Japan, mainly Osaka.

2. Meizan did not create individual ceramic works so much as products of his workshop, strongly recognizing his role as a producer of art rather than an artisan.

3. Meizan was keenly aware of contemporary currents in foreign countries.

4. Although his works won numerous awards at international exhibitions, Meizan regarded these as merely part of the business.

While many of his early works featured large flowers, this subsequently changed to landscape drawings or genre pictures that utilized copperplate paint technology to depict intricate patterns of butterflies or flowers.

In contrast to contemporary Imperial Household artists who expressed flowers, birds and landscapes in more artistic stylings, Meizan sought to achieve an overall harmony by utilizing copperplate printing to replicate “patterns” of flowers, birds and landscapes in a motif, as might be seen on printed paper or fabrics. And even though the same motif might be used over and over again, Meizan’s works came to be highly appraised in the countries of the West.

Following Yabu Meizan’s passing, the designs of Japan’s export ceramics, especially those of tableware and flower vases, shifted from mostly Japanese landscape designs to more Westernized continuous designs, similar to wallpaper, which better conformed to Western consumer tastes. The origins of this momentous change in production can be found in the millefleurs flower and butterfly designs first produced by Meizan. I hope to discuss the characteristic Japaneseness inherent in Meizan’s works, which differ in several ways from continuous Western designs.