Japan Marks - Yedo Banko & Banko |
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| BANKO 番古 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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circa 3rdQ 19thc (1850-1875) Itou
Toyosuke Banko Katabori Koku Nemuri Neko with separate figural suzu,
bell, that rings, 6 1/8" L x 3 7/8" W x 1 7/8" H, signed (豊助作) Toyosuke saku, a work (by) Toyosuke. Pictures courtesy of kagedo.com |
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| An elaborate piece displaying excellent talent for katabori three dimensional sculpturing and koku incisement by the avant garde artist Toyosuke Itou. This is one of the most amazing works of Japanese artistry - truly captivating and realistic - capturing the symbolism surrounding this particular piece (see below). | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Pictures courtesy of kagedo.com | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| The sacred Shinto ceremonial suzu, bell, decorated with mizu water motif | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Resource Notes on Toyosuke-yaki & Toyosuke Itou (伊藤豊助) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 pre 1921 Banko Figural Male Cat Censor for burning incense, sculptured and incised in 3D on bottom with male parts, large bun-tie collar, suzu bell, and figural leaf lid opening. |
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Japan - its history, arts and literature, Volume
VIII, Frank Brinkley,
1902 (1883*).
(*Note:
Brinkley first published his work on Japanese pottery-porcelain and
their marks in The Chrysanthemum, Volume III, in 1883). YEDO BANKO-YAKI This is the name given to ware manufactured by Numanami Gozaemon, the originator of the Banko-yaki, during his residence at the village of Komme, in the suburbs of Tokyo (vide Banko yaki). It can scarcely be classed among the keramic productions of the capital, and of course it is not distinguishable from work produced by the Banko expert at his native village (Kuwana). In the same category of exotic manufactures may be placed ware made at the private kiln of the Prince of Mita, within the grounds of his Yedo mansion (at Toyama), up to the beginning of the present century. To this ware, as well as to the faience manufactured at the Prince's private factory in Owari, the name Oniwa-yaki (honourable garden ware) was given, and it was usually marked Go-raku-en ("later Raku-en"). The nature of the ware has already been described in the chapter upon Owari keramic products. |
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1882 Advertisement for Toyosuke (Toyoski) Pottery by The Arcade, Broadstairs, Edgar H. White, in Broadstairs: Past and Present, Barlow, 1882. |
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BANKO-YAKI At the village of Kuwana, in the province of Ise, between the years 1736 and 1795, there lived a rich merchant, by name Numanami Gozaemon, who in the days of his prosperity turned his thoughts to garden-making, that refined extravagance which has always been among the first fancies of a wealthy Japanese. Until that time Gozaemon had given himself little concern about the Chajin and their tenets, but his horticultural predilections necessarily drove him to seek the aid of those masters of aesthetics. To this end he visited Kyoto, and there became the pupil of a renowned virtuoso, from whom he acquired not the principles of garden-making alone, but also that taste for keramics which forms an integral part of the Tea Ceremonials. The renown of the great potter Kenzan was then fresh, and the Kyomizu factories had attained the zenith of their excellence. The merchant of Kuwana, now an ardent disciple of the Cha-no-Yu ethics, never wearied of wandering from workshop to workshop and watching the clay assume, under the touch of skilled manipulators, shapes the beauties of which he had newly learned to appreciate. His interest gradually developed into a desire to imitate. The Kyoto potters were easily persuaded to explain their processes, and whether their pupil possessed some innate ability, or whether, as a wealthy amateur, he was able to command the best materials and devote ample time to the manufacture of single pieces, it is certain that by the circle of friends who were so fortunate as to receive the products of his kiln he was pronounced one of the best artists of his day. Yet, like the majority of Japanese keramists, he was an imitator, not an originator. The thick unadorned Raku ware and ill-favoured Korean faiences supplied him with models that seemed not less worthy of reproduction than the delicate conceptions of Ninsei or the bold designs of Kenzan. In both directions, however, Gozaemon was successful; so successful that his fame reached the Court at Yedo, and a special order was sent to him from the Shogun Iyenari (1786). No doubt such a commission incited the amateur to more than common exertions, for the proficiency he displayed induced the Shogun to summon him to Yedo. |
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 circa 1850-1875 A Pair of Cats signed Toyosuke (豊助). Picture courtesy of http://www.2ezr.com A Pair of Cats made by Toyosuke Itou (伊藤豊助) is noted on the website at Yokkaichi Municipal Museum. http://www.city.yokkaichi.mie.jp/museum/syozou/tenji_35.html |
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(continued Banko-yaki) He accordingly moved to Komme, in the northeast suburb of the Eastern Capital, where he already possessed a residence, and there pursued his keramic pastime under the patronage of the Court nobles, Iyenari himself sometimes condescending to visit Komme and watch the elaboration of results which he so much admired. The effect of all this upon Gozaemon's reputation can be easily conceived. His ware became the rage everywhere, — not, perhaps, for the sake of its merits alone, but also because of the difficulty men experienced in procuring it; for fame had made the artist capricious, and, since he did not work for gain, none but the favoured few might obtain specimens of his handicraft. He now no longer restricted himself to imitations of ancient models, but, giving the reins to his fancy, turned out pieces combining the graces of the Japanese school with the brilliancy of Chinese polychromatic porcelain. Just then, however, the factories of the Celestial Kingdom, under the munificent patronage of the Emperor Chien-lung, were producing wares not unworthy of their ancient fame; and side by side with these the inferiority of the Japanese keramist's enamels became easily apparent. The Shogun, therefore, commissioned the Governor of Nagasaki to procure from Ching-te-chen the recipes used at the Imperial factory, together with a supply of the best materials. It is not easy to conceive by what means these instructions were carried out, but the Governor seems to have experienced no difficulty, for within a year he forwarded to Yedo all that was required. With this aid Gozaemon's success was more marked than ever. |
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 circa 1850-1875 A Museum Quality Piece - A Pair of Cats signed Toyosuke (豊助). Picture courtesy of http://www.2ezr.com A Pair of Cats made by Toyosuke Itou (伊藤豊助) is noted on the website at Yokkaichi Municipal Musuem. http://www.city.yokkaichi.mie.jp/museum/syozou/tenji_35.html |
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(continued - Banko-yaki) The best connoisseurs could scarcely distinguish his pieces from Chinese porcelain decorated with red and green enamels of the Wan-li period (1573—1620), though indeed it must be confessed that the models he copied did not exhibit any very remarkable degree of keramic skill. His imitations of Delft faience, too, were certainly quite as good as the very inferior specimens of that ware which found their way to Japan; but his achievements in this line need not occupy attention. He was at his best when, departing from his models, he combined brilliantly glazed surfaces with chaste floral decoration in the pure Japanese style. He imitated everything, from the rude faiences of Korea and the soft colours of so-called "Cochin-China" ware to the severest styles of Ninsei and Kenzan. He generally marked his pieces Banko (ever-lasting or enduring), sometimes, however, adding Fuyeki (changeless). His productions are now known as Ko-Banko-yaki (old Banko ware). He died about the year 1795, at Kuwana, whither he had been recalled by Matsu-daira, lord of Etchiu, one of the most celebrated of modern virtuosi. Whatever special skill he possessed died with him, for, since he cultivated keramics entirely as a pastime, he neither took pupils nor imparted his art to his children. |
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 pre 1921 Banko Maneko Neko with impressed banko mark. |
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(continued Banko-yaki) Like all noted amateurs, Gozaemon would probably have found imitators in later times. Yet had it not been for an accident, his name would certainly be little remembered outside the circle of connoisseurs of whose somewhat archaic creed he was so obedient a disciple, and in whose hands his comparatively scanty productions remained. That accident was the discovery — about the year 1830 — of a recipe which he had employed in the manufacture of his enamels. The document containing the precious formula had found its way into the possession of a dealer in bric-a-brac who lived at Kuwana, and whose son, Mori Yusetsu, had already gained some distinction as an imitator of Raku faience. Fully appreciating the value of the knowledge thus strangely acquired, Yusetsu immediately set himself to profit by it, and in order to give his counterfeit ware a greater semblance of authenticity, he persuaded Gozaemon's grandson, Gorobei, to sell him the Banko stamp. Thus the works of the Ise amateur were again brought into public notice, and that rather by a freak of, fortune than by any public knowledge of their merits. Yusetsu, however, was saved from performing the ignoble role of a mere imitator by his quickness of observation; for, detecting that the Chinese artists — whose works, like Gozaemon, he took as his models — used moulds applied internally for their more elaborate pieces, he immediately adopted that method in his own workshop, and so caused the name of Banko — for he still continued to employ Gozaemon's stamp — to be associated with the introduction of a valuable novelty in Japanese keramics. It has already been noticed that the Kyoto artist, Mokubei, was the first to follow the Chinese example in the matter of moulds, but whereas he fashioned his clay in the mould, Yusetsu reversed the process by putting the mould inside the vase and pressing the clay with the hand into the matrix. The consequence is that his pieces carry their design on the inner as well as the outer surface, and are moreover thumb-marked. Of course a mould thus employed was necessarily constructed on principles different from those which governed the Kyoto process. |
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 1919 Advertisement for A. A. Vantine & Co. importer/exporter of many Japanese wares including Banko ware. |
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(continued Banko-yaki) The mould of Yusetsu, instead of being simply divided into two parts, was built up of six, eight, or sometimes twelve longitudinal sections, which were withdrawn one by one after they had accomplished their purpose. The results displayed such clever modeling that they subsequently came to be regarded as representative pieces of Banko-yaki. In fact, it is through the works of Yusetsu, or rather through the methods he devised, that the Ise ware has attained the wide-spread popularity it now enjoys: nor that undeservedly, either, for some of the designs of his school exhibit a remarkable combination of artistic and technical excellence. Particularly worthy of mention are pieces ornamented with storks, dragons, and so forth, in relief, and others with clever arabesques in coloured slip on green or rich brown ground. All the Yusetsu Banko ware is faience, and the specimens are sometimes stamped "Yusetsu." Among his productions a variety which often passes, or is made to pass, for "Ko-Banko" is finely crackled faience of dark cream or light grey tint, decorated with blue under the glaze, and above it with a preponderance of red and green floral designs, or red diapers among which are reserved medallions containing landscapes or mythical subjects. Pieces in this style bear a considerable resemblance to the modern Akahada-yaki, but even in the absence of marks the two may be readily distinguished, not only by the omission of the blue in the latter, but also by its denser pate and the yellowish tinge of the bodyglaze. The amateur will generally be safe in attributing specimens of this nature to Yusetsu. Yuyeki, originally called Yohei, a younger brother of Yusetsu, was also an able artist — better, indeed, than Yusetsu himself according to some authorities. The reader will perceive that in the hands of Yusetsu the Banko-ware underwent a complete change of character. This alteration was carried still farther by his son. Abandoning coloured glazes and brilliant decoration, the younger Yusetsu made beauty of form and plastic skill his chief aims. In his hands the Banko-yaki became hard, light, thin pottery, — sometimes without glaze, sometimes having a slight coat of colourless diaphanous glaze, — exquisitely modeled, the pate grey, white, dove-coloured, chocolate, or black, its surface slightly roughened, and relieved by delicately executed designs in white slip. |
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(continued Banko-yaki) His ware became immediately popular: it suited Japanese taste excellently. Factories were opened in 1845 by Yamaka Chiuzaemon and Takekawa Chikusai; in 1861 by Hori Tomonao; in 1876 by Kuwamura Matasuke; in 1879 by Ito Shohachi and Matsumura Seikichi, etc. The industry spread also to Yokkaichi, a seaport village near Kuwana, where some potters who had formerly gained a livelihood by imitating the faiences of Seto and Awata under the patronage of the Court of Yedo, seeing themselves suddenly deprived of employment on the fall of the Tokugawa Regency in 1868, had recourse to the manufacture of Banko ware as the speediest means of finding a new market. Thenceforth this village became the principal seat of the manufacture. A not very creditable story is told of the device by which the Yokkaichi potters made themselves masters of the methods and models of Yusetsu, but at any rate they profited so well by their acquirement that there is scarcely a house at present in Tokyo where a teapot or some other utensil of their manufacture is not in daily use. Quaint and very characteristic teapots they are, too, presenting all the peculiarities of form — and many others besides — that are to be found in Chinese boccaro, to which, moreover, the pate bears some resemblance in its changes of colour. It would be impossible to enumerate all the varieties of Banko ware now produced — grey, chocolate, or dove-coloured grounds with delicate diapers in gold and engobe; brown or black faience with white, yellow, and pink designs incised or in relief; pottery curiously and skillfully marbled by combinations of various coloured clays, and so forth; all presenting one common feature, namely, skillful finger moulding and slight roughening of the surface as though it had received the impression of coarse linen or crape before baking. In short, the Banko-yaki of today bears no resemblance to the work of its nominal progenitor, Gozaemon. His chief aim was the production of solid glazes or brilliant enamels in the Chinese style, whereas the tendency of the Ise artists is now preeminently plastic, disposing them to construct cigar-holders after the fashion of the calyx of a lotus, or ewers in the shape of egg-fruits, rather than to study the composition of glazes and enamels. The change is decidedly commendable. Grace and quaintness of conception are natural elements of Japanese genius; and when to these an infinite power of painstaking is added, the total represents a combination especially fitted for the production of such works as those found in the modern Banko ware. |
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 pre 1921 Banko Manekineko unsigned. |
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China, its history, arts, and literature, Volume
IX, Frank Brinkley, 1904. The Yi-hsing pottery is the protype of the celebrated Banko-yaki of Japan. Many pieces of the latter resemble the former so closely as to be quite capable of deceiving inexperienced amateurs. The Japanese product, however, is appreciably lighter and generally has coarser pate than the Chinese. Of course the great majority of specimens of Banko-yaki, especially the modern manufacture, are essentially different from the Yi-hsing-yao, but certain examples of the former, made expressly to imitate the latter, are not easy to distinguish. The Kyoto potters also took Chinese boccaro as a model for their shudei, and succeeded in manufacturing tea utensils that differ scarcely at all from their originals. |
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 1919 Advertisement for A. A. Vantine & Co. importer/exporter of many Japanese wares including Banko ware. |
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The
following marks from the book, Japan - its history, arts and literature, Captain Frank Brinkley, Volume VIII, 1902 (1883). Marks numbered 723 thru 765 BANKO WARE. Click here to see pdf files BANKO mark #723-765 Page 13, Page 14, Page 28 |
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Lectures on Japanese art work, Ernest
Abraham Hart, Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures, and
Commerce (Great Britain), 1887. Banko - The name of a kind of pottery (gres) made at Kuwana (province of Ise). There arc two kinds, known as Ko-Banko or old Banko, made principally at Yedo (1740-1780), and the modern Banko, the making of which was re-commenced only in 1830 by Yusetsu. [Cat. Porcelain and Pottery 81, 127.] Yusetsu - A potter of Ise, who, in 1831, revived the production of Banko ware, which had ceased since 1785. |
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 1919 Advertisement for A. A. Vantine & Co. importer/exporter of many Japanese wares including Banko ware. |
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Catalogue of a collection of oriental
porcelain and pottery, Augustus Wollaston Franks, Bethnal Green branch
museum, 1878. The well known Banko ware, is very various in style, and includes at least two distinct factories. The first, the Yedo Banko, was established about 1680, in the village of Komume-mura near Tokio (Yedo), by a man named Banko-Kichibeye, and resembles some of the Kutani wares. This factory is discontinued. The other, the Ise-Banko, was founded about 30 years since at Kuwana, in the province of Is6, by a man named Yu-setsu, who assumed the name of Banko. He is still living, but has discontinued working. He made a peculiar kind of stoneware, unglazed. The pottery is thin, and being finished off with the finger and thumb before baking, shows the lines of the skin of the hand on its surface. In later years, Hashimoto Chiuhei has established a kiln at Kabasaki, in the province of Shimotsuke, where he produces a similar ware to Banko Yu-setsu, with whom he studied. Pottery is known in Japan under the general term Yaki, or Yaki-mono. |
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 Pre 1921 Minature Banko Puppy Dog with incised hairlines and paw pads. |
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International exhibition, 1876, official
catalogue, Volume 1. 1876. Listed under Ceramics - Pottery and Porcelain: 22 Shitomi Sohei, Yokka-ichi, Province of Ise.—Banko ware, vases, tea pots, etc. 213 23 Mori, Y., Yokka-ichi, Province of Ise.—Banko ware, vases, tea puts, bowls, etc. 213 24 Nakayama, M., Kuwana, Province of Ise.—Vases, cake boxes, and dishes. |
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| Brinkley Banko Marks #735 thru #743 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 Post 1920 Banko Teapot Hand Painted with Iris flowers Also called Majolica Japan. |
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A handbook for travelers in Japan, Basil
Hall Chamberlain, John Murray (Firm), W. B. Mason, 1893. ...Banko faience — a ware, for the most part, exceedingly light and having hand-modeled decoration in relief. The best Banko shop is that kept by Kawamura Matasuke in Minamimachi; but as every variety of this cheap and fascinating ware is easily procurable in Yokohama and Kobe... |
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 Brinkley Banko Marks #744 to 752. |
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Japanese pottery: being a native report, A.
W. Franks, M. Shioda, Victoria and Albert Museum, 1906. Banko Ware. In the period Sho-o or Manji (1658-60), a man named Banko Kichibei established a kiln in the village of Koume-mura, on the boundaries of Tokio, which was considered as a branch of Kutani factory in the province of Kaga. Tke ware from this kiln, the character and ornamentation of which resemble in some degree the Satsuma ware, are now known as Yedo Banko. (Nos. 157-159.) This manufactory has been discontinued, and the articles going by the name of Banko ware in foreign markets are made at Kuwana, Yokka-ichi, and the neighbouring district in the province of Ise. The Kuwana factory was founded thirty years since (1850) by a porcelain maker named Yiusetsu, a native of the village of Obuke, near Kuwana, who assumed the name of Banko. He is still living, but is too old to work. The produce consisted of a peculiar kind of stoneware, generally unglazed. The character of the ware, together with the method of manufacturing it, is stated in detail in the Official Catalogue of the Japanese Section of the Philadelphia Exhibition. (Nos. 160-164.) Hashimoto Chiuhei, a native of the village of Kawasaki, in the province of Shimodsuke, studied this branch of manufacture with Banko Yiusetsu, and in later years successfully established a kiln in his native place, where he produces a similar ware from materials found in the vicinity. His work, however, is not equal to the original. There was also another kind of Banko ware called Banko celadon, which is very brilliant and unlike the Chinese. Its manufacture has, however, been discontinued. [According to Ninagawa, the Banko factory was not established till the period Horeki (1751-63), and the ware was made in imitation of the Chinese pottery of the period Wan-leih (1573-1620); it is known as Ko-Banko. Yiusetsu of the Mori family was the son of a dealer in waste paper, and accidentally found among his father's stock the receipts for glazing, etc., of the first Banko, which led him to become a potter. This was a century later.] |
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 Shioda, 1906, Fig. 109 No. 316.77 and Fig. 110 No. 317.77. |
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 post 1920 Banko Vanity Jar Lid decorated with Tsuru Cranes |
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 Brinkley Banko Marks #753 to 759. |
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Keramic art of Japan, George Ashdown
Audsley, James Lord Bowes, 1881. MUSASHI. The earliest mention of the industry in this province which we find in Japanese chronicles is the establishment of a kiln at Kummumenura, near Tokio, then known as Yedo, by Banko Kichiheye, in 1680. His earliest efforts were in imitation of the pottery then produced in Kaga, but he afterwards made a faience, of a light colour and rather soft body, in imitation of that for which Satsuma was becoming celebrated. Of this faience several examples have reached Europe; it is decorated with landscapes, sketchily drawn in faint colours, and occasionally the specimens are ornamented with the crests of daimios and with characters signifying happiness, riches, longevity and so forth. This ware is known as Yedo Banko. The kiln no longer exists. |
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 From a bowl of Ise Banko Ware (Bowes Collection). Shippo designs incised on Banko-yaki. |
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ISE. The manufactories of Ise produce several varieties of faience and stoneware; and certain descriptions of the latter are perhaps amongst the most characteristic of Japanese Keramic productions. Beginning with the more important manufacture, we have to treat of that commonly known as Banko. There appears, even amongst the skilled Japanese, to be some little uncertainty about the derivation of this name, but it is generally believed to have originated in the name of its first maker or inventor. Banko literally signifies ancient ten thousand— ban, ten thousand; ko, old or ancient. Some maintain, however, that the name refers to the ware itself, which, from its intense hardness and perfect vitrification, is practically indestructible by the influence of time alone. The manufacture of Banko ware in Ise is said to have been originated by a potter named Yu-usedzu, who settled in the town of Kuwana about the year 1845. He copied the productions of the factory established at Tokio, towards the close of the seventeenth century, by Banko Kichibeye, and assumed the name of Banko. The hard stoneware potted by hand with which the name of Banko is now commonly associated does not appear to have been made at Tokio, and we think that it was invented by Yu-usedzu. The industry, commenced at Kuwana, is now chiefly carried on at the town of Yokkaichi, where numerous small kilns exist. |
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 post 1920 Banko Figural Dog Teapot with colorful enamel decorations. |
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 22 Oct 1896 The Globe Republican, Dodge City, Kansas, newspaper article on Banko vases |
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(continued ISE) Banko ware is usually potted by hand (that is, not thrown on the wheel or moulded), and fired at a great heat. The specimens which have come to Europe, as well as those which were exhibited at the Philadelphia Exhibition, are of small size, and commonly in the form of teapots. The pate is of various low-toned colours, such as drabs, browns, and dull reds, manipulated by the fingers to great thinness, and finished without glazing, the perfect vitrification in the kiln rendering the protection of a varnish unnecessary. Other varieties are met with, notably those which display a variegated or mottled appearance by the admixture of pates of different tints. This description is called by the Japanese mokume, which signifies the graining of wood. In some specimens of Banko ware, porcelain plaques are inserted in perforations made through the thickness of the body. Inscriptions are frequently accentuated by this means. The thinness to which the Banko pate can be reduced in the manipulation of vessels is remarkable; and, even when not much thicker than an ordinary playing card, it is of great strength and toughness. In the numerous specimens of teapots, we meet with some ingenious devices, which display considerable skill in potting, and show the peculiar capabilities of the material. Minutely perforated handles, slender chains of many links, and knobs which revolve in their sockets, are amongst the most common. |
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 Plate XXX. Banko-yaki. |
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(continued ISE) The principal feature of this ware is its decoration by means of numerous stamped seals or marks. Two or more of these are to be seen upon almost every piece. On a small teapot, for instance, made by Mori, of Yokkaichi (illustrated in Plate XXX), fifteen impressed marks appear, amongst which we note four of the word banko in different styles; five of sen-shu, which signifies one thousand years; one of Mori uji, the Mori family; and one of Nippon. Painted marks are very rare on this manufacture; only one example has come under our observation on which the word banko is so presented; such words as those signifying long life and happiness are, however, sometimes met with. Quaint and careful modelling is to be seen in some pieces, and particularly in their handles, which are often introduced as bent or twisted pieces of bamboo, upon which small birds are perched. Cleanly cut and perforated patterns, usually diapers, are favourite decorations. In addition to the impressed and inlaid marks, and the perforating and modelling, this ware is occasionally painted with flowers, birds and figures in highly-raised opaque enamels; but this style of decoration does not accord well with the general spirit of the manufacture, agreeing better with the less severe treatment of the faience of the province, which is profusely painted with raised enamels of bright colours. Specimens displaying various methods of treatment are illustrated in Plate XXX. We stated that the thin ware was not glazed; as a rule it is not, but we have met with a few pieces, evidently of modern manufacture, which are not only glazed, but have metal cloisons applied to them. The Ise faience is a very inferior production to that of Satsuma or Kioto, both in point of material and artistic treatment. It is generally of a red or brown colour, glazed with a whitish semi-transparent varnish, which imparts a grey tone to the ware. On this varnish, bold flowers and figures are painted in very thick opaque enamels, producing designs in relief. Numerous specimens of this faience have come to Europe in the shape of dishes, jars, covered bowls, and similar articles, but, presenting little that is either artistic or pleasing in colour, they have failed to commend themselves to collectors. IWASHIRO. Ware for local use is made at the villages of Hongo and Keizan, but no examples have reached Europe, so far as we know. At Nihomatzu an imitation of the Banko ware made in Ise is manufactured, which is very popular in Japan. |
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 Brinkley Banko Marks #760 to 765. |
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 post 1920 Banko Figural Cat Teapot decorated with colorful glazed enamels These figural teapots were made in the shape of cats, dogs and monkeys. |
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The following marks
from the book, Japan - its history, arts and literature, Captain Frank Brinkley, Volume VIII, 1902 (1883). Marks numbered 723 thru 765 BANKO WARE. Click here to see pdf files BANKO mark #723-765 Page 13, Page 14, Page 28 |
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The Industries of Japan, J. J. Rein,
1889: Banko-yaki. The province of Ise yields, under this name, in the cities Yokkaichi and Kuwana. on the Tokai-dd, as well as in several towns between them, partly flint-ware and partly a kind of glazed earthenware with beautiful enamel decorations, which has been called very aptly Japanese Majolica. In a narrower sense, however, Banko-yaki consists of clay-wares having a red to dark brown, yellowish, or white colour, either plain, marbled or painted. They are extremely tasteful, but thin, light, and not very durable, burning very hard, and exhibiting in the potsherd quite the character of stone-ware. They are generally smaller articles, teapots, jugs, small vases and several others which are formed neither on the wheel nor by the hand, but in adjustable katas or moulds. The ferruginous clay which is used for the coloured ware is obtained in several places on a neighbouring hill near Obuke; the white ware is from the porcelain material of Seto. When the two kinds have been finely pulverized and washed, pressed through cloths and transformed to plastic paste, they are separated for the plain wares and mixed for the marbled; i.e. in the latter case they are superficially kneaded together, and then rolled to a thin paste like cake dough. The adjustable wooden moulds, having a long prismatic or cylindrical piece as a handle in the middle, are made wet and covered with strips of oiled or Shibu-saturated paper. The sheets of doughy paste are then pressed firmly on all parts of the mould. That which lies over the edges is trimmed off. Special strips of the material are laid on and pressed close together to form the neck; the bottom also is cut out by itself and pressed on. The same is done with the handle and spout, which must be ready made beforehand. When the pot is thus modelled on the kata and somewhat dried, the form is taken apart and out from the centre, and the article placed to dry, after which the strips of Shibu-gami may be easily removed. The cover is formed separately also. The burning lasts twenty-four hours and the articles are not glazed. |
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 1889 Banko-yaki from The Industries of Japan, J.J. Rein. |
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(continued Banko-yaki) The four pots on Plate XXIII. are decorated each in a different fashion. The rings and knobs of the covers of the two upper pots may be turned easily. The vertical striping of both is effected by a pressure of the material upon the form. The white pot (upper left) is decorated with birds and blooming branches; the greyish brown at the right, with the white botan blossom (preony), laid in with a corresponding material. The third pot (lower left) shows the places where the thumb pressed the thin dough on the form. The little house with which it is decorated is made of paste applied to the paste of the pot. In the fourth a peculiar marbling may be noticed, produced by a mixture of several coloured pastes. Wares of this kind are called Momi-kome, or Kamo-gata. Banko Kichibei, after whom this flint-ware or " Gres de Banco" is named, erected a furnace at Yeddo, between 1652 and 1660, which was intended as a branch of the factory in Kutani, but was given up later. Forty years ago, a porcelain potter, by the name of Yiusetsu, built a furnace in the village of Obuke, near Kuwana, changed his name into Banko, and laid the foundation of the present peculiar industry which bears his adopted name. Its principal seat is Yokkaichi, on the Tokai-do, where the manufacturer Kawahara-ya employs about eighty workmen. The factory in Obuke is still in operation, but furnishes more majolica, with beautiful enamelled decorations in relief. Several potters from Yokkaichi transplanted the industry to Onko in Mino, and are now producing many durable wares. |
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| An old Banko mark originally used by the founder of Banko ware has been revived and found on modern Banko wares (post 1950) including okimono animal figures (post 1950). The modern banko wares show no signs of aging - there is no discoloration in the faience pottery and no leaching spots due to oxidation aging and found marked Banko Fueki (番古不易) within a square. The mark is stamped into the clay. I have provided an example of the revived mark BANKO FUEKI. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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