Water Jar (Mizusashi) with Bamboo

The Hirado Domain established its official kiln in 1637, a process that reached completion by 1650 with the leading potters having been transferred from the Nakano site to Mikawachiyama. Under the domain’s patronage, the East and West kilns at Mikawachiyama produced porcelain of exceptional quality, from the finest materials and with the most advanced techniques of the time. Beginning in 1662, Imamura Yajibei—who made art under the name Jōen—secured a stable supply of raw materials, ushering in the era of full-scale porcelain production. This pure-white porcelain freshwater jar is adorned with an elegant cobalt-blue painting of a bamboo grove, rendered in the manner of a Chinese ink painting.