The Design Philosophy of Yabu Meizan : Landscapes of Western Japan in Copperplate

Itani Yoshie

doi:10.18910/90920

Theme II : Design Philosophy

Yabu Meizan(1853-1934) was a craftsman and entrepreneur of his day who made and sold Satsuma ware pottery in Osaka, Japan. That Meizan was considered “uniquely skilled with Satsuma ware” and “a supporter of public works projects” were hardly exaggerations, even if such articles tended to glorify him in light of his public donation efforts. Born fifteen years before Japan’s Meiji Restoration, Yabu Meizan lived through a period in which the Japanese export porcelain industry was transitioning from traditional to modern designs, and on to its present form. Meizan’s work featured four distinguishing characteristics: Meizan made use of copperplate print etching to recreate these same motifs more as repetitive patterns, an approach that imbued them with a broader overall harmony similar to that of stenciled or dyed textiles. The foundations of his design work lay in Western Japan, mainly Osaka.Looking at the breakdown of the present collection, aside from Mt. Fuji-related themes, we see that many of the works depict subjects like the Gion Festival, the Kasuga Grand Shrine, Lake Biwa, and Itsukushima Shrine. We can also see an unmistakable similarity to the many landscape copperplate prints that were being produced in the Kyoto-Osaka region at the time.The popularity in the West of Yabu Meizan’s works, on which the same motifs are often repeated, may have something to do with their inherent visual continuity. Even after winning numerous awards at international exhibitions, in the end Yabu Meizan did not seek the honor and prestige of becoming an Imperial Household Artist, but rather dedicated himself to making a business of creating porcelains.

The Design Philosophy of Yabu Meizan : Landscapes of Western Japan in Copperplate

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