ABSTRACT
The modernization of ceramic production in Japan during the Meiji and Taisho eras involved significant changes in the relationship of the industry to government regulation and support. During the Edo period (1615–1868), the Japanese government had tightly controlled international trade by allowing access only to Chinese and Dutch merchants through the single small port of Nagasaki. This chapter discusses the important role of the Institute and the Center in encouraging the modernization of ceramic arts in Kyoto in the early twentieth century. It also examines the techniques and designs emphasized in pedagogy and the methods of dissemination to students. Kyoto developed as one of the leading centers of ceramic production in Japan during the Edo period. Major figures in the history of Japanese ceramics who worked in Kyoto include Nonomura Ninsei, Ogata Kenzan, Okuda Eisen, Aoki Mokubei, and Nin’ami Dohachi.
