features of Meiji kutani ③ Meiji kutani nurtured a lot of master craftsmen

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In the early Meiji period, by each Japanese production area, the products exhibited to the Expo and exported were never manufactured. Large vases and incense burners were temporary for the Expo, but they had not  produced the body and designs required by Europe and the United States, and the products  like tableware were required to have  a uniform size, lightweight and durable body which had never been mass-produced. In order to respond to these requests, with the guidance and support of the Meiji government in design and pottery technology, kutani production area was able to respond under the division of labor between potters and painters, which had sprung up since the late Edo period.

The body and painting for Meiji Kutani was developed by the techniques  created by potters and painters parties under the division of labor between both. The division of labor of assembly line work carried out by individual craftsmen in a narrow range, such as the production area of Arita porcelain, could not develop new techniques, and it was not a problem that could be solved by a small traditional kiln. In the production areas and districts of Meiji Kutani, various techniques and techniques were developed by potters and potters who had worked in various kilns of the revival Kutani from the late Edo period, or their descendants and disciples in the Meiji era. Received high praise from around the world as “Japan Kutani”, a lot of export kutani were sought by the Western markets, and among them were many products called masterpieces. It can be said that Meiji kutani brought up potters and potters called “master craftsmen”.

reference ; guide for some Meiji kutani 

④ pottery merchants produced Meiji kutani for export