Kakiemon

The Sakaida Kakiemon family of potters, which represents Imari ware from Arita, Saga Prefecture, has been in business for 14 generations since the early Edo period to the present day. This exhibition also features overglaze porcelain fired in the family's kilns, as well as works in that style.

The Sakaida family was a powerful clan that lived in Sakaida (present-day Yame City, Fukuoka Prefecture) during the Muromachi period, and in 1582 (Tensho 10), the successor to the Sakaida Iki no Kami Tono Muraji, Sakaida Yajiro, became a hostage of the Ryuzoji clan and moved to Ryuo (present-day Fukaura, Shiroishi Town, Kishima County, Saga Prefecture). This Yajiro took the name Ensai in his later years, and it is believed that his son was Kisaemon, who changed his name to the first Kakiemon. The first Kakiemon was a talented and enterprising potter who developed the technique of overglaze painting on white porcelain (akae) based on what he learned from the Chinese, and also devised a method of overglaze painting on gold and silver, which contributed greatly to the progress of Imari ware. He brought these techniques to Nagasaki and sold them to the Dutch and domestic merchants, among other remarkable activities. Akae was first created a little before 1647 (Shoho 4). After that, the family business did not always go smoothly, but during the third generation, the production of ceramics for export to Western Europe began in the 1660s, and the business flourished after participating in this. In recognition of his contribution to the creation of akae, the clan gave him exceptional permission to fire akae overglaze painting in addition to white porcelain blue and white painting, and he was given an audience with the new clan lord when he took office, and it was customary for him to present his works to him. This is not just because the Sakaida family was a distinguished family with a long tradition, but also because it produced many generations of master craftsmen and maintained a high standard of ceramic techniques. In the long history of the Kakiemon family, there was a time in the late Edo period around 1771 (Meiwa 8) when the business fell into considerable hardship. However, with the arrival of the Meiji Restoration, in 1878 (Meiji 11), Kurokawa Mayori published "Crafts Historical Materials" in which he commemorated Kakiemon, and since then, their fame has spread to Western Europe, and the 11th Kakiemon, who passed away in 1917 (Taisho 6), once again boosted the family fortunes. Unfortunately, however, the birth and death dates of the previous generations are unclear, and nothing specific is known about their works.

[Yoshiaki Yabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

佐賀県有田の伊万里焼(いまりやき)を代表し、江戸初期から現代まで14代続く陶工酒井田柿右衛門家。また、その家系の窯(かま)で焼かれた色絵磁器、およびその様式の作品群。

　酒井田家は室町時代には酒井田（現、福岡県八女(やめ)市）に居住した豪族で、1582年（天正10）には酒井田壱岐守(いきのかみ)統連の世継、酒井田弥次郎が龍造寺(りゅうぞうじ)氏の人質となって竜王（現、佐賀県杵島(きしま)郡白石(しろいし)町深浦）に移り住んだと伝える。この弥次郎は晩年円西と名のったが、その子が初代柿右衛門に改名した喜三衛門と推測されている。初代柿右衛門は進取の気風に富んだ才気煥発(かんぱつ)な陶工であり、中国人からの伝授をもとに白磁胎上絵付法（赤絵）を開発し、金銀の上絵付法をもくふうして伊万里焼の進歩に大いに貢献し、長崎に持参してオランダ人や国内の商人にも売りさばくなど目覚ましい活動を行った。赤絵の創始は1647年（正保4）よりすこし前のことであった。その後、家業はかならずしも順風満帆ではなかったらしいが、3代のころは西欧輸出陶磁の生産が始まった1660年代にあたっており、これに参加して隆盛するに至ったようである。赤絵創始の功が認められて、例外的に白磁染付以外にも、赤絵上絵付の焼成を藩より許可され、新藩主着任のときは謁見が許され、作品も献上する習わしであった。それは単に酒井田家が伝統ある名家であったばかりでなく、歴代名工が輩出して、高い陶技の水準を保ち続けたことに由来している。長い柿右衛門家の歴史のなかで江戸後期1771年（明和8）ころは生業がかなり苦境にたたされたこともあった。しかし、明治維新を迎え、1878年（明治11）に黒川真頼(まより)が『工芸史料』を著して柿右衛門を顕彰して以来、その名声は西欧にも及び、1917年（大正6）に没した11代柿右衛門が家運をふたたび盛り上げた。しかし残念ながら10代以前の歴代の生没年は判然とせず、その作品も具体的にはなにも判明していない。

［矢部良明］

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