Imari ware. A general term for porcelain from the Arita 有田 region of Saga Prefecture, but not including the Kakiemon 柿右衛門 and Nabeshima 鍋島 kilns. The name derives from the port of Imari from where imariyaki was shipped to cities in Japan, China, and Europe.
The ware is noted for variations on Chinese decorative techniques and styles. The Chinese method of first decorating a vessel with blue underglaze and firing it at relatively high temperatures, then enameling the resulting porcelain with overglaze colors followed by a second firing at a reduced heat, was introduced to Japan in the Keichō 慶長 era (1596-1615).
Imariyaki made through the Genroku 元禄 era (1688-1704) is called ko imari 古伊万里 (old Imari) or shoki imari初期伊万里 (early Imari) and includes *sometsuke 染付 (blue-and-white china), seiji 青磁 (celadon porcelain), seiji sometsuke青磁染付 (celadon with blue-and-white decoration), and *iro-e 色絵 (polychrome ware). Characteristic iro-e imari features dramatic motifs of Japanese genre scenes, Dutch and Chinese ships, and birds-and-flowers often rendered in colors that depart as far as possible from nature glazed onto unusually-shaped vessels.
From the mid-Edo period, Imari ware was exported to Europe by the Dutch West India Company and greatly influenced European porcelain production.
