Meticulous execution, a jewel-like palette and the symbols and vignettes of the mystical East. In the Western imagination, at least, the distinctive enamelled and gilded earthenwares known simply as ‘Satsuma’ have come to epitomise Japanese ceramics.
And Satsuma did have its roots in old Japan and the Edo (1603-1868) period. Kilns producing functional earthenwares from a dark iron-rich clay had operated in this part of southern Kyushu since a team of Korean potters was forcefully brought here in the 17th century.
However, nishikide Satsuma, the product that forms the basis of most ‘Satsuma’ collections today, was very much the result of a culture clash of the 19th century.