japanese Polychrome

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Overglaze enamel wares are produced by firing porcelain (with or without underglaze blue designs) at high temperatures, applying colored enamels, and then firing the wares a second time in a smaller, specialized kiln.  In China, these are known as wucai (five-colour) wares.  It is said that this enameling technique  was transferred to Japan through a wealthy Japanese merchant in Nagasaki who had closely observed the technique in the Jingdezhen kilns during his frequent buying trips.  He shared his observations with Sakaida Kakiemon who quickly learned to replicate the process in the 1630s.

The Kanbun period (1640 to 1670) is an interesting period of rapid innovation in Japanese porcelain with various interpretations of wucai  techniques and styles:

Ko-Kutani (old Kutani) wares are lavishly decorated overglaze enamel wares named after their perceived origin in Kutani.  In 1655, stone suitable for porcelain making was found in the Kutani mine of the Daishoji Clan, whereupon Lord Maeda Toshiharu sent Goto Saijiro to the Arita Village ito learn how to make porcelain. Kutani Porcelains from this early period are specifically called Ko-Kutani and are extremely rare. Gosai-de (five-colored painting) is probably the most recognizable style of Kutani ware. This style features the five colors: green, yellow, purple, navy blue, and red painting with the porcelain body showing through the background.   Gosai-de (five-colored painting) is probably the most recognizable style of Kutani ware. Ao-te is another popular method in which a ware's entire surface is covered with brightly colored pigments. The production of Ko-Kutani ware continued for about 40 years (1650-1690), until production suddenly stopped.  

Kakiemon style of enameled wares was fully established by the 1670s.  These wares exhibit a very Japanese style that favors asymmetry and the use of negative space as an integrated part of the overall composition.  These objects feature motifs derived from Japanese paintings, such as figures, animals, and flowers which were painted in a crisply drawn, bright palette of orange-red, grass-green, blue, yellow, and black on a milky white ground.  The unique white clay body is called Nigoshide, the composition of which was a closely guarded Sakaida family secret.  This new style appeared attractively exotic to European buyers and was quickly copied by a number of kilns.   These wares should be referred to as Kakiemon-style and can be distinguished by the grayish tint of the porcelain body.

Kinrande Imari developed as a specialized form of Imari wares during the Genroku period (1688 to 1704).  These wares use underglaze blue and overglaze red and gold enamels, and later additional colors.  It is this Kinrande (gold brocade) ware that most Westerners associate with the term Imari.  The color combination was not seen in China at that time. Traditional Ming dynasty color porcelain used dominantly red and green, probably due to scarcity of gold in China, whereas gold was abundant in Japan.  These Imari wares dominated the export market until 1756 when the social conditions settled in China and the Emperor Kangxi restated the Jingdezhen kilns.  Quickly making up for their 40-year absence from the export market, the Chinese started  producing Chinese Imari wares that were much cheaper than the labor-intensive Japanese Kinrande.  By the mid-1700s, the Arita kilns were solely focused on domestic items.