FINE JAPANESE LATE MEIJI/EARLY TAISHO PERIOD SATSUMA BOWL circa 1880-1920, probably Kinkozan School of Kyoto, of round fluted form in the shape of the sixteen petalled stylized chrysanthemum blossom of the Japanese Imperial Kamon, interior painted with an Imperial procession of retainers and Norimono (Japanese palanquin) with a circular cameo of Nijo Castle in Kyoto, exterior with a continuous similar procession scene, both rims with detailed gilt border, four character mark in square seal to base, 12.5cm in diameter Note: The Kinkozan were a famous family of Kyoto Awataguchi potters who made ceramics that were used at Shoren'in, a temple closely tied to the Imperial family, and by the shoguns of the Edo government. In fact the shogun is said to have granted them the name Kinkozan. With the upheavals at the end of the Edo period, however, and the reforms of the subsequent Meiji government, the potters lost their traditional patrons and had to develop new markets. Just at that time, the visit of a certain Westerner is said to have decided them to embark on overseas trade. By 1870, they had perfected Kyo Satsuma's glazing technique and by 1872 they began their export in full scale. The Kyo Satsuma techniques invented by Kinkozan Sobei VI (1824-1884) were then passed down to his son, Kinkozan Sobei VII (1868-1927), who further developed the ware. The Kinkozan continued to enlarge their business throughout the Meiji period to the point where the production of Kyo Satuma exceeded the original Satsuma made in Kagoshima.