Arita porcelain entered a turbulent period from the peak of export in the 17th century due to major fires and national isolation, but with the 2nd Paris World Exposition, it once again fascinated people from all over the world. Arita porcelain, which was successful at the Paris Expo, continued to fascinate people around the world.
Beginning with the 1873 Vienna World Exposition, Japan officially participated in the Expo as the new Meiji Government. In addition to Shigenobu Okuma serving as the general secretary and Tsunetami Sano as the vice president, the German chemist Gottfried Wagener, who stayed in Arita for about four months at the time and contributed greatly to the technological innovation of Arita porcelain, also served as an advisor.
Wagener made a great contribution to Japan's economic growth, greatly improving the quality and production efficiency of Arita porcelain through the use of cobalt pigments, research into glazes, and the development of coal kilns. During this period, the social economy was undergoing major changes, and competition with other porcelain production areas both in Japan and abroad was intensifying. For Arita porcelain to survive as a porcelain industry, such advanced technological innovation was essential. is.
Wagner's achievements were highly praised, and he earned the trust that "although he came from abroad, his heart was always for the sake of Japan." In response to Sano's strong request, he selected exhibits for the exposition and created catalogs and manuals for overseas markets.
When participating in the Expo, Japan was faced with the problem of what kind of products it should promote overseas. At that time, the machine industry was beginning to actively manufacture products, so there were many proposals that wanted to appeal to its mechanical technical capabilities.
Wagner's strong desire and advice to ``not immature mechanical products, but Japanese elaborate handicrafts'' succeeded. As a result, the Japan Pavilion, which exhibited arts and crafts, was highly praised by people overseas. It is said that people from all over the world flocked to the shops to buy affordable handicrafts.
After the Expo, a British trading company called Alexander Park hoped to purchase the entire Japanese garden, and a trading company was established in Japan to sell the arts and crafts exhibited at the Expo. The company exhibited and sold the products at the 1876 Philadelphia World's Fair, opened branches in New York and Paris, and contributed to exporting Japanese products and earning foreign currency until its dissolution in 1891.
At the Philadelphia World Exposition, Koransha's Arita porcelain was awarded the honorary grand prize, and works by master craftsmen such as Suminosuke Fukami and Katsuzo Tsuji received prestigious gold medals. Koransha is a manufacturer founded in 1689, and has a tradition of manufacturing and selling a variety of Arita ware arts and crafts, tableware, urns, kaleidoscopes, etc., which have received many honorary gold medals around the world. A company.
The popularity of Arita porcelain never stops around the world, and with the Expo as a trigger, overseas exports of Japanese products have become even more exciting than ever before.
During the Meiji era, when the World Expo brought about great economic development, Arita porcelain was the ace of the export industry.
Looking at the history of Japan's economic development, you can get a glimpse of how the Japanese craftsmanship that Arita ware boasts has changed the world and made a big impact.