This book provides a chronological overview of the progress of Japanese ceramics such as earthenware, stoneware, pottery and china. It divides the more than 10,000 years from the Jomon period to the contemporary era into ten periods, which are described by eight authors. It is quick to see the table of contents.
Introduction (Yoshiaki Yabe)
Chapter 1: The Jomon period: 10,000 years of the Earthenware Age (Yoshiaki Yabe)
Chapter 2: Yayoi and Kofun periods: from earthenware to Sue ware (Yoshiaki Yabe)
Chapter 3: Nara period, early Heian period: the development of glazed ceramics (Takamasa Saito)
Chapter 4: Late Heian, Kamakura and Muromachi periods: blossoming local kilns (Yoshiaki Yabe)
Chapter 5: Momoyama period: tea pottery - the creation of a new beauty (Yoshiaki Ito)
Chapter 6: Edo period I: Imari ware - the birth of china (Hidenori Sasaki)
Chapter 7: Edo period II: Development of Kyo-yaki pottery (Yoshiko Oka)
Chapter 8: The Meiji period: glamorous decorative ceramics (Masaaki Arakawa)
Chapter 9: Taisho era and early Showa period: pursuit of artistry and spirituality (Karasawa Masahiro)
Chapter 10: Modern times: the age of individuality - tradition and avant-garde (Kenji Kaneko)
'A Genealogical Chart of Japanese Ceramic Techniques and Styles' (Yoshiaki Ito).
' Chronology of modern and contemporary pottery' (Ritsuko Takamitsu).
' Endnotes’
As can be seen from the table of contents, the characteristic ceramic objects of each period are highlighted and shown with colour photographs. Each chapter contains between 20 and 30 photographs, which means that in total there are around 250 pieces of ceramics in the book. It is a feature of the colour editions that the colours and shapes can also be checked.
The older the ceramics, the larger the percentage of excavated objects. So, archaeology is also a field of study for ceramics. However, the entire book takes an art history perspective. This is clear by the supervisor, Yoshiaki Yabe, who says that he " considers the history of ceramics as art history" (p.68), and is also clearly understood from words such as " the fine arts" and "beauty" being used throughout the text, by all authors.
And what does art history tell us about the history of Japanese ceramics? This book made me think about that. The beauty of the form is a good thing. However, it is not clear where this beauty is based on. The following text is taken from chapter 1.
Now that we are describing Jomon earthenware as an art form, we focus on areas of high creative combustion. If they have low formative consciousness, we place a lower value to them. This philosophy of value should be considered as a guideline of art history. (p.14)
The specific image of 'creation' and 'shaping' that seems to lie at the core of this 'value philosophy' of art history is not shown even after much more reading. Beauty without a basis is subjective. In this meaning, it can be said that this book does not suggest a way of looking at the beauty of ceramic objects. It is a pity, because this book seems to be easy for beginners to pick up.
The background to the production of forms may include direct factors in the production of ceramics, such as technology and technique, and also social and economic influences surrounding production. Of course, this book mentions the background to the production of some of the ceramic forms. However, there is no consistency in the descriptions. This may have a relation to the fact that the book is written by several authors, but as it is a comprehensive history, it would be a mistake to expect the descriptions to be consistent throughout the whole book. Well, the absence of a way of looking at beauty is a common thread.
In this context, Arakawa Masaaki, who wrote Chapter 8 on the Meiji period, says: "...... we may have been too bound by the value of 'apology', which has been revered by the tea ceremony, in our appreciation of old ceramics" (p. 130). And his approach to explaining the previously underappreciated ceramics of the Meiji period deserves recognition.
In total, this book is a comprehensive history, but it lacks a narrative that weaves a comprehensive history. It may be unfair to ask this of a book that was published more than 20 years ago. In fact, it would be impossible to write a comprehensive history that would be acceptable to everyone, but it is not impossible to write a comprehensive history while showing a viewpoint. In these days of academic segmentation, it seems essential to place the research at the end of the segmentation in the context of contemporary society. In this context, it is becoming increasingly important to write a comprehensive history, which is also a way of drawing up a research perspective.
Reference is made to the previous edition in writing this review. but a new, enlarged edition of this book was published in May 2018. According to the publisher's website (https://bijutsu.press/books/970/), the differences between the old edition and the new, enlarged edition are that Chapters 7 and 10 and " Chronology of Modern and Contemporary ceramics" have been added and revised, and a new Chapter 11, "The 21st Century - 2000s Style Trends", has been added. Although I have not looked through the new, enlarged edition, it can be seen that the basic framework of the book has remained basically unchanged. If so, it can be pointed out that the problems as a comprehensive history mentioned previously remain largely unchanged in the new, enlarged edition. But for those who are about to pick up this book, I recommend the new, enlarged edition, which has some additions and corrections.