Kakiemon

Kakiemon (Japanese:柿右衛門) is a style of Arita ware, usually porcelain, with overglaze decoration called "enameled" ceramics, originally produced at the factories around Arita, in Japan's Hizen province (today, Saga Prefecture) from the mid-17th century onwards. The style shares much in common with the Chinese "Famille Verte" style. The superb quality of its decoration was highly prized in the West and widely imitated by the major European porcelain manufacturers.

In 1971 the craft technique was designated an Important Intangible Cultural Property by the Japanese government; a double climbing kiln in Arita used for the firing of Kakiemon has also been designated a National Historic Site.

The potter Sakaida Kakiemon (酒井田柿右衛門, 1596–1666) is popularly credited with being one of the first in Japan to discover the secret of enamel decoration on porcelain, known as akae. The name "Kakiemon" was bestowed upon Sakaida by his lord, after he perfected a design of twin persimmons (kaki), developing as well the distinctive palette of soft red, yellow, blue and turquoise green now associated with the Kakiemon style.

Kakiemon is sometimes used as a generic term describing wares made in the Arita factories using the characteristic Kakiemon overglaze enamels and decorative styles. However, authentic Kakiemon porcelains have been produced by direct descendants, now Sakaida Kakiemon XIV (1934–2013). Shards from the Kakiemon kiln site at Nangawara show that blue and white and celadon wares were also produced.

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