8. Yabu Meizan

MEIZAN  Yabu Meizan (1853-1934)

明山  /  藪 明山

Yabu Meizan was born in Osaka in 1853 and studied painting techniques on ceramics in Tokyo. After his returning to Osaka he established his own studio that operated from around 1880 to 1920. Yabu Meizan created a new form of intricate artwork, characterized by meticulous and precise painted landscapes and decorative motifs,  sometimes so detailed that it is difficult to see with the naked eye. He became famous for this detailed work what he achieved in the late 19th century and was the most successful of all manufacturers of Satsuma ware.  When he started his workshop he mainly produced wares decorated with Chinese or Buddhist subjects, but from 1888, when he concentrated the on the export market, particularly the United States , he began to favor native Japanese themes.  In the beginning of the 20th century, he simplified the motif of his designs to appeal to a wider audience and correspond to the fashion of the period, while maintaining his attention to detail throughout. These years are also the most productive of Yaby Meizan, and many of hist best work was created in ths time, often small figures in a great number in parade or celebrating a festival, another motif was typical Japanese landscapes of great detail.  After 1910  he changed his style radically, and instead of the paintings in panels, surrounded by densely filled borders, he started to restrict his design to a single forms as a maple-branche, leaving the rest undecorated. It seems as Yabu wanted to do justice to the form, seeing the form of the object and the decoration as a complete work, instead of using the blank as a surface to be filled with amazing paintwork