Hand Painted Fukagawa Arita Vase

Nice bulbous 31/2" in vase. It has the Mount Fuji with a stream mark, Arita and Hand Painted on the bottom.

Koransha and Fukagawa Seiji

Fukagawa is a family, a brand name, a place and nowadays a porcelain factory in the Arita region. Its history goes back to the seventeenth century. Fukagawa is thus a part but not all of Arita.

Its history starts with Ezaiemon Fukagawa who in 1856 became head of his family's porcelain business and in 1875 founded Koransha (The Company of the Scented Orchid) in Arita, Japan, to produce tableware for export.

In 1894 the modern Fukagawa company was founded by Chuji Fukagawa, with the Fukagawa trade mark of Mount Fuji and a stream, as its trade mark.

In the Paris International Exposition in 1900 Chuji Fukagawa won the medaille d'or with a large Flower Vase. Among many famous artists Kinsaku Ide, shape designer, and the sculptor Toshi Ninomiya could be noted as having taken part in producing the Paris Expo 1900 prize-winning vase.

Similarities in style with Hirado can be seen in some of the early (late Meiji period) Fukagawa pieces, but the Iro-nabeshima style (decoration in enamels such as the Ko-Imari style) is more common.

Not all Fukagawa pieces were marked with the Red Orchid mark, or Mount Fuji with a Stream. Some were simply written in red, but also in blue and could be marked with the character for sei or tsukuru, both meaning made. The calligraphy was widely varied. Some were very artistic with flair while some were hurried and simple.

The Fukagawa company has served as purveyor for the Japanese Imperial Household since 1910 and only produces what we mean by white true high temperature porcelain.