Modern Japanese cloisonné ware got its start in the late Edo period when Kaji Tsunekichi of Owari unraveled and elucidated the wired cloisonné technique. Later Tsukamoto Kaisuke and others developed this into an industry in the province of Owari, and in the Meiji era with the expectation of export value, production expanded to other sites including Kyoto, Tokyo, and Yokohama. Technique and design improved with each successive entry in the international world expositions that were occurring at just that time, with the result that colors became more varied and vivid, the wires more finely detailed, and geometric designs gave way to painterly depictions that featured open spaces and depth. It was in this way, as production became its most mature in mid-Meiji and extending to the end of the era, that Japanese cloisonné ware experienced a golden age. The collection of the Kyoto Sannenzaka Museum focuses upon the finest pieces produced during this period.

　Along with masterpieces from the museum’s superb Kyoto Namikawa collection as well as others by the likes of Namikawa Sosuke, Hayashi Kodenji, and other studios of the same period, the present exhibition features a number of cloisonné works by the Hirata school, which was known for its sword decorations of the Edo period. Feast your eyes upon a sensitive and subtle cloisonné beauty that has no peer anywhere in the world.