VINTAGE JAPANESE KORANSHA TEA SET IN ORIGINAL BOX-SIG.

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THIS WAS DISCOVERED AT A TOKYO CHARITY BAZAAR W DONATIONS ARE TAX DEDUCTABLE. SPRING CLEANING IS NOW IN EFFECT FOR FOREIGN DIGNATARIES, ETC. IN JAPAN AND TAX SEASON IS FAST APPROACHING ALSO. SO, SATURDAY I WENT AND I FOUND THIS BEAUTIFUL SET. THE COMPLETE SET WITH THE STANDARD HIGH QUALITY OF WORKS BY KORANSHA - FUKAGAWA AND VERY THIN AND DELICATE WITH A TINY, FINE GOLD TRIM THAT SHOWS IT'S QUALITY. PLEASE SEE PHOTOS. KORANSHA - FUKAGAWA WORKS ARE GETTING REAL HARD TO FIND LATELY. The Old Style Manufacture Wooden Presentation Box with the extremely Fine Calligraphy is about the best way we can tell the quality of the set. (I checked and found a similar set sells in the High Quality Dept. Stores today for around $200.) It was probably made and given before the turn of the Century. Like around the 1990's at the latest, but it could be 30 years old too I was told and we will call it Vintage at least. So, it sat on a closet shelf until the Expat was retired or assigned another post outside of Japan and never even unwrapped, much less used. I unwrapped them for the Photos. I was afraid to try to put the genuine Bamboo handle completely on as I do not know how. Tfore, they are not damaged and in new condition. We will need to repack some pieces outside the Wooden box as it was never meant to be exported in today's mail systems, but the fine wooden box will still be used also. This is going to be over the Small Packet Weight Limit, so it must be shipped EMS - Express and Insured. Etc. Also, please push that 'Other Items' Button to see what all else I can find after decades in Japan. Thank you all. FROM THE WWW ----------- Fukagawa is a is a family, a brand name, a place and nowadays a pocelain factory and whose history goes back in the Arita region to the seventeenth century. Fukagawa is thus a part of - but not all - of Arita. After the collapse of the feudal system of the Tokugawa dynasty (also called Edo, 1615-1867) and a devastating economic recession, Ezaiemon Fukagawa who in 1856 became head of his family's porcelain business and decided to concentrate on exports to the European and North American markets. In 1875 he founded Koransha (The Company of the Scented Orchid) to produce tableware for export. Fukugawa porcelain comes in a wide variety of designs and colors. It can be best characterized as combining traditional Japanese designs with Western style elements. At the end of the 19th century, when Fukagawa Seiji was established, clay from Amakusa was used to produce a pure white base which provided a contrast to the very colorful glazes. Some Fukagawa pieces of this period show evidence of being influenced by the Hirado style although this is not true in every case. Its history starts with Ezaiemon Fukagawa who in 1856 became head of his family's porcelain business and in 1875 founded Koransha (The Company of the Scented Orchid) in Arita, Japan, to produce tableware for export. In 1894 the modern Fukagawa company was founded by Chuji Fukagawa, with the Fukagawa trade mark of Mount Fuji and a stream, as its trade mark. In the Paris International Exposition in 1900 Chuji Fukagawa won the medaille d'or with a large Flower Vase. Among many famous artists Kinsaku Ide, shape designer, and the sculptor Toshi Ninomiya could be noted as having taken part in producing the Paris Expo 1900 prize winning vase. Similarities in style with Hirado can be seen in some of the early (late Meiji period) Fukagawa pieces, but the Iro-nabeshima style (decoration in overglazed enamel such as the Ko-Imari style) are more common. Not all Fukagawa pieces were marked with the red orchid mark, or Mount Fuji with a double line river in front. Some were simply written in red, but also in blue and could be marked with the character for sei or tsukuru, both meaning made. The calligraphy had wide variations. Some were very artistic with flair, while some were hurried and simple. The company has served as purveyor for the Imperial Household since 1910 and only produces what we me... read more

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