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Quite a few people may have their favorite pottery teaware like kyusu teapot and yunomi teacups as well as their interests in tea and tea leaves.
Particularly, Arita ware and Imari ware are perhaps many people’s favorite?
What is Arita ware / Imari ware?
Arita ware / Imari ware is the porcelain produced in and around the areas of Arita in Saga.
Pottery has several types: Porcelain is one of them and Arita ware / Imari ware is the origin of porcelain.
It is said that the beauty of Arita ware / Imari ware even inspired one of the most famous porcelain brands Meissen.
Difference between Arita ware and Imari ware
Arita ware and Imari ware are originally the same.
In the late 17th century, foreign companies got to purchase Arita ware products and exported them from Imari port. That is why Arita ware also got to be called Imari ware.
Now porcelain produced in Arita is called Arita ware, the one produced in Imari is called Imari ware to distinguish them.
Features of Arita ware and Imari ware
The features of Arita ware / Imari ware are their hardness and solidness.
Bright and colorful decoration is designed on clear white porcelain, which influenced the history of European pottery. Arita ware / Imari ware is called “IMARI” and is still popular in Europe.
Particularly, the clear white porcelain is admired as “white gold” and highly valued all over the world.
Also, porcelain is generally produced with the mixture of multiple types of clay, but Arita ware / Imari ware is a very rare type of porcelain as they are produced with only one type of pottery stone fragments.
The history of Arita ware / Imari ware
The history of Imari ware originated about 400 years ago.
Japanese porcelain was first produced when one of the potters, who’d come from Korea to impart their pottery techniques to Japan, discovered the pottery stone in Izumiyama located in Arita.
That would have been going to be Arita ware / Imari ware later.
Later, when Arita ware / Imari ware products were able to be produced constantly, they got to be exported to the world as a substitute for Chinese pottery.
At that time, Chinese pottery was the most popular in the world, but the domestic war in China reduced the production and export of Chinese pottery.
Once Arita ware / Imari ware products were exported, their gorgeous and detailed design attracted the Europeans and became considerably popular. Now they are one of the most famous porcelain products in the world.
It can be said that Arita ware / Imari ware is miraculous porcelain made by layers of luck: The material had accidentally been discovered and was luckily perfect for porcelain, the products were luckily exported at the best timing.