Japan's Memory of Civilization Served on Thousand of Inbante Plates

The special exhibition commemorates a donation of the Hashimoto collection　

Inbante- Stencil  ware； the ceramics of the modern era

Venue： Osaka museum of history
Until Mar 21, 2003
no English caption

rikisha, warship, and factory. Things impressed Japanese people at that time served on an Inbante plate.

Although this exhibition shows blue and white porcelain plates, the plates serve rich stories about Japan’s early civilization. The patterns printed on Inbante evoke how producers and users enjoyed and enthusiastically learned Western culture at that time. I think it may give you an insight into what paved the way and came to be a driving force to current industrialized Japan, without words.
Unfortunately, few non-Japanese people would be aware of this show due to the lack of English information.

I will make a note of some introductions for English speakers.
Bon Appetit! (plates are empty, though)

Japanese modernized army troops passing by an old castle

Inbante is blue and white porcelain that uses stenciled patterns, not hand-drawn. This printing technique dated back to the late Edo period and flourished during the Meiji era(1868〜1912).
　　Japan established the porcelain industry in the seventeenth century after a long struggle to catch up with China, which had created sophisticated celadon as early as the eleventh century. Before then, Japan solely relied on imports for purchasing ceramics as the artisans could only make pottery. Such a strong desire for porcelain even led the warlord Hideyoshi TOYOTOMI (1536-1598) to send troops to the Korean peninsula, a major exporter of ceramics to Japan. His crazy efforts later bore fruit as Arita, Saga prefecture, had great success making porcelain, and their products won the highest praise among European royals. These porcelain wares were called Imari, famously named after the port where they were exported.

 Map to Explore the world

At that time, the presence of porcelain would have been far more critical than it is today. It was a way of showing off the aesthetic sense and production skills. It symbolized the national power of Japan's poor and weak island nation.

　　After Western industrialization was introduced, mass-produced Inbante became affordable porcelain for commoners. As a result, producers competed for various prints to appeal to the customers.
　　
　　Each of the thousand Inbante plates in this exhibition has a unique pattern. Above all, what might interest you would be those imbued with the social conditions and news of the time. As Inbante were rare printed materials in a commoner’s daily life, they also became
a way to provide information on current affairs, features of progressive Western culture, and also war, patriotism, and propaganda. Inbante played a role like that of a current influencer.

a cameraman working on the seashore

The items on display are a part of the 1,129 items collected and donated to the Osaka Museum of History by Mr. Tadayuki Hashimoto, who is known as an Inbante collector. Most of the works are exhibited for the first time.

I’m sure that viewing these Inbante up close will bring a recollection of the passion of the artisans in early civilization time past time. Look at them and imagine what paved the way for modern industrialized Japan. They tirelessly tried to playfully produce things with the latest technique and shared the joy with the users.