antique bizen hotei figurine, old bizen hotei god ornament, ko bizen, meiji era

Love Japanese Style Like We Do

A lovely old bizen (ko bizen) figurine of Hotei, one of the seven lucky gods in Japan. The smiling god of contentment and happiness, he carries an ogi fan in his right hand and sits resting on his magical cloth bag, that never empties.

The Meiji Era figure has the smooth feel and colorings of old bizen ware, resulting from extremely long firing at high temperatures and the clay used at that time. It is quite heavy and is a reddish dark brown color with an iron-like hardness that resembles bronze ware.

Figures of gods, people, mythological creatures, birds, fish and animals were turned out in quantities in the Meiji Era, many for export. The figures were first molded and then given an individual touch by a master potter, edges were sharpened, details picked out and shapes varied by gentle pressure of the hands, so that no two objects were ever exactly alike.

The hotei ornament is in good condition with no cracks or chips.

Old bizen figures have the lovely rustic, folk art feel of Japanese mingei and their simple, earthy color lends them to many kinds of interiors. Their variety of interesting and lucky forms makes them highly collectible.

- measures around 17 cm (6.7”) across x 12 cm (4.7”) high x 11 cm (4.3”) deep.
- weighs 630 gm.

(listing for hotei god figurine)

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We list pieces we feel are worthy of display. There may be scratches, dents, fading and signs of wear and tear. We try to explain the condition of each item exactly, but may miss something.

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BIZEN HISTORY
Bizen roots are the unglazed Sueki earthenware vessels of the Oku region. Sueki stoneware was made using techniques that came from Korea in the Kofun, (250 AD - 538 AD), Nara (71 AD - 784 AD) and Heian (794 AD - 1185) periods. It was fired in an anagama at high temperatures and was generally grayish brown in colour.

In the latter Heian period the sword industy flourished and as a result the scarcity of firewood intensified. Sueki potters moved to Imbe in search of wood for their kilns. Artistic Sueki ware was abandoned and pottery that was necessary for people’s daily lives was produced, giving birth to Bizen pottery. At this time Bizen ware consisted of mainly containers, mortar bowls and jars.

From the Kamakura period (1185 - 1333) into the Muromachi period,(1333 - 1573). Bizen pottery faced an age of unprecedented mass production and purchasing. The kilns that were once up in the mountains moved further down to the foot of the mountains. By the end of the Muromachi period the mountain clay used for Bizen pottery shifted to the use of clay from rice paddies.

Demand for Bizen ware increased and so did popularity, Goods had to be loaded and sent off from the harbour, so kilns gradually moved closer to Imbe village for convenient transportation. Bizen gained the reputation as a tough and sturdy ceramic with people saying, ‘even if you throw a Bizen earthenware mortar, it doesn’t break.’ Everyday wares were fired in large quantities and Bizen spread to various regions in Japan.

From the late Muromachi period into the Momoyama period, (1573-1603), masters of the tea ceremony, who had no utensils for their art, discovered aesthetic beauty in practical Bizen ware containers. By selecting Bizen ware, for use in the tea ceremony, as water jars and flower vases, Bizen household articles grew ever more popular.

From around the Genwa year of the Edo period (1615-24), Bizen Pottery began to show signs of its prolonged decline. Tea ceremony tastes moved towards the new, more elegant and refined porcelains of Arita, Seto and Kyoto ware. Bizen was seen as crude and ugly with its exposed reddish, earthy surface. Bizen potters focused on producing ornaments that replaced the popular tea-wares of before.

In order to compete against porcelain, the technique of ‘Inbe-de’ was developed, giving pieces a lustre like that of glazed ware or copper ware. White Bizen, celadon, and colored bizen, known as Shizutani ware were also made. Shizutani pottery did not succeed and demand for Bizen pottery declined to the extent that large communal kilns could not be fired.
 
From the Bunmei Kaika in Meiji (1868- 1912). the age of civilization and enlightenment, European ways flourished and the traditional culture of Japan was given lower regard. Crude, earthy, undecorated wares like Bizen were not in demand. With the development of transportation systems, glazed porcelain wares of Seto and Arita could be obtained at reasonable prices and this hastened the departure from Bizen wares. Although difficult to imagine the goods that were produced in the largest quantities by kilns in Imbe were earthenware pipes and bricks!
 
After World War 1, the Japanese economy reached a stage where it could stand equally alongside the nations of Europe and America.
The decline in the appreciation of Japanese traditional culture was reassessed with much enthusiasm. Tea ceremony became popular amongst the newly emerging wealthy class. Tea bowls, water jars and vases were in demand and the tea wares that this class craved were Seto, Mino, Iga, Karatsu and Bizen ware pieces from the Momoyama period.

For Bizen, there was one potter who paid attention to the tea wares of the Momoyama period. His name was Kaneshige Toyo (1896-1967).
Toyo, who had once been famous in figurative handiwork decided to focus on the ‘return to Momoyama’ in his mid 30’s and began to recreate famous wares of Momoyama Bizen. Thanks to Toyo’s existence, potters of the same generation were also greatly encouraged and from this, successive potters continued to thrive under his influence. As a result, potters pursue their art independently in Bizen and it is said that there are now approximately 400 potters producing Bizen wares around Imbe.

HOTEI
Hotei is one of Japan’s Seven Lucky Gods and is the god of contentment and happiness. He has a very cheerful face and a large protruding belly. He is known outside of Japan as the Fat Buddha or the Happy Buddha. He usually carries a "Nunobukuro" (cloth bag) over his back. This is a magical bag and one that never empties. From his sack, Hotei cheerfully gives out items to those in need.

In Japanese "Ho Tei" actually means cloth bag. As well as carrying a cloth bag, Hotel can often be seen holding a Chinese fan called an "Oogi". This is said to be a wish fulfilling fan. Apparently, the same type of fan was used by the aristocracy in feudal times to indicate to workers that their requests had been granted.

The god Hotei was supposedly an actual Chinese Buddhist monk who lived in the 10th century in China. Apparently, this monk had a large protruding stomach which is a defining feature of Hotei today. The monk was also a very good speaker, could quote religious texts and considered himself to be a bit of a fortuneteller.

In present day Japan, as well as being the god of contentment, Hotei is known to be very forgiving, a protector of children and is worshipped by attorneys, politicians, cooks, bartenders and fortunetellers. In Japanese art, sometimes Hotei is depicted surrounded by small children who are obviously delighted by his round shape. In recent years, Hotei has become the patron saint of restaurateurs and bartenders in Japan. And sometimes, when someone overeats, they jokingly say it is because they were influenced by Hotei.