A highly decadent book celebrating the history of ceramic plates, especially blue and white porcelain.
The author and editor, Miyashita Kozo (dates unknown), was a medical doctor and historian of ancient ceramics. In this title, he takes a closer look at ceramics, both stoneware and porcelain, from the Seto and Mino regions. The book also includes a preface by Yanagi Sori (1915–2011), who was an industrial designer and son of Yanagi Soetsu, founder of the Mingei Movement. The illustrations by Serizawa, printed in lithograph, provide a charming addition to the essays and photographs. Though he was a textile dyer and printmaker, Serizawa had a deep appreciation for ceramics (indeed all traditional folk crafts in Japan), and had ceramicists in his close circle. There are three illustrations tipped into the book, and a fourth, extra illustration loosely inserted. There is also a lovely scenic illustration pasted on the cover, also by Serizawa.
The production of this book would have been very expensive, which would give some explanation to the small limitation of 80 copies. Indeed, the price of the book in 1984 was ¥45,000, a large sum at the time. This particular copy is inscribed in the inside of the fording case by the author, Miyashita Kozo.
Rare. Only 1 copy in OCLC (National Library of Australia).
