An elegant Japanese Meiji Period Satsuma vase signed Ryozan

Boys Festival

The Boys festival (Tango no Sekku) was one of the five annual ceremonies held at the imperial court, and was celebrated on the 5th of May, until 1948 there was a sepreate Girl’s day (Hinamatsuri) which was celebrated on the 3rd of March. The two days are now both celebrated on the 5th May, it is a national holiday set aside to respect children’s personalities and to celebrate their happiness.

Acer

Acer or Japanese maple is a symbol of strength and endurance, it is often used in the art of Bonsai and it is traditional to go to view the changing colours of the leaves in Autumn, much like the cherry blossom is viewed in the spring.

Sparrows

Sparrows are a popular motif in Japanese art, birds in general represent longevity, but the popularity of the sparrow is probably due to the traditional fable of the tongue cut sparrow.

It tells the story of a kind woodcutter that finds an injured sparrow, so he takes it home and cares for it, the farmer goes out one day and asks his greedy and jealous wife to feed the bird while he is away. She does not, and while she is out the sparrow eats the store of rice, she is so angry on her return she cuts out the bird’s tongue and sends it flying back to the mountains where it came from.
The woodcutter returns and is very upset and goes looking for his friend, the other sparrows lead him to the Sparrow’s Inn where he finds the little, they sing and dance for him and offer him a choice of two baskets as a reward for his kindness, he is a humble man and chooses the smaller, and when he returns home he opens it to find it is full of treasure.
Once his greedy wife learns of the existence of the larger basket she returns to claim it, and opens it before she returns home, to her surprise it is full of dangerous snakes, it scared her so much she fell all the way down the mountain to her death.

Phoenix 

The phoenix is a powerful symbol in Japan, used to represent the Empress. When used to decorate an object or house it symbolises the loyalty and honesty of the people that live there, traditionally a phoenix only stays when a ruler is without corruption.

Satsuma

Satsuma ware is a type of earthenware pottery originating from the Satsuma province in Southern Kyūshū, Japan’s third largest island. The first kilns were established here is the 16^th century by Korean potters kidnapped by the Japanese for their extraordinary skills, prior to this there was no ceramic industry in Satsuma.

The first presentation of Japanese arts to the West was in 1867, Satsuma was one of the star attractions, it was this that established the satsuma aesthetic we are most familiar with today. This export style reflects the foreign tastes of the time, popular designs featured millefleur (million flower), and complex filled in patterns. Many pieces featured panels depicting typical Japanese scenes to appeal to the west such as pagodas, cherry blossom, birds and flowers and beautiful ladies and noble men in traditional dress. The height of popularity for Satsuma was the Meiji Period and many of the most beautiful and artistically accomplished works were made during this time.

Ryozan

Ryozan was the head artist at the Yasuda company, he was active during the Meiji period and is regarded as one of the greatest satsuma artists, his work ranges in size and shape but always has a fine painterly quality to the decoration, faces are rendered with particular skill.

Yasuda Company

Yasuda were a Kyoto based satsuma company active during the Meiji Period (1868-1912) they had many famous artists working for them including Ryozan and Hozan.