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Fukagawa Porcelain Manufacturing Company
Fukagawa Porcelain is in a sense the culture of applied fine arts and through the material of porcelain it represents the philosophy of art entertained by Chuji Fukagawa, the founder of the company.
Porcelain was originally made in China 1300 years ago and was produced in Arita for the first time in 1616. after which porcelain was introuduced to the world under the control exercised by the feudal lord of Nabeshima, or the present Saga Prefecture. Porcelain produced there was called 'Koimari'.
In the Meiji era, a company was created by a group of craftsmen who sought uniformity in quality by concentrating on their elaborate technique. In 1894, Chuji Fukagawa aimed at attaining the ultimate goal of becoming world renown in the artistic porcelain so he created the Fukagawa Porcelain trade mark of Mt. Fuji and a stream. He organized a group of top artists with likes of Kinsaku Ide and Tosui Ninomiya who produced many fine pieces to exhibit in the International Exposition held in Paris in 1900. At the exposition, the company won the highest honor of gold medal. The company was again awarded the gold medal at the World's Fair in St. Louis in 1904.
Chuji Fukagawa's philosophy was brought to fruition in the firm of a uniquely refined Fukagawa-style porcelain which is a translucent white porcelain of the Kuan-ware mode of 景徳鎮 Jingdezhen.
A pair of gigantic pots placed at the entrance of the Cernuschi Art Museum in Paris are the master pieces made by Chuji Fukagawa. The company has served as purveyor for the Imperial Household since 1910 and has adhered to its craftsmanship in the production observing the belief that the strength of porcelain depends on high temperature firing.
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