4. Denshichi Kanzan

According to Augustus Franks -Japanese Pottery 1880 - Kanzan Denshichi ‘invented a manner of representing in porcelain, iron inlaid with gold’. In 1873  the Imperial Household Ministry purchased Kanzan’s works, including some tableware for use in the Enriokan and other items in the style of the underglaze blue decorated Edo-period imperial porcelains known as kinri goyōtōki. Participating widely in national and international exhibitions, and receiving a large number of awards, Kanzan became one of the best known and most successful manufacturers of ceramics in Kyoto. At its peak, Kanzan’s workshop had up to 100 craftsmen, but mismanagement led to the dissolution of the workshop and he sold the Kanzan Toki Kaisha in 1889. He died a year later in 1890. The technique of colorful iro-é brushwork and intricate overglaze patterns that had preserved the "Kanzan porcelain" appellation for over a century however still exists. Kanzan Shigeta, born in Kyoto 1973 is the eighth generation of Kanzan ceramic artists and had his formal apprenticeship under his father, Kanzan Denshichi VII.