Plaque with Mount Fuji

Cloisonné is a decorative technique in which glassy enamels are fired onto vessels made of copper or other metals to create designs. “Inlaid cloisonné,” in which the surface is carved away, leaving only the lines separating different sections of the design, and the hollows are inlaid with enamels of different colors, and “lined cloisonné,” in which metal dividing lines are attached to the surface to separate sections of enamel, can employ a wide variety of colors because dividing lines prevent adjacent colors from mixing. “Lineless cloisonné,” in which the dividing lines are removed after the enamels are applied, allows artists to aim for harmonious gradations of color by blending enamels. Cloisonné is an artistic technique that has been employed in many regions of the world since ancient times. The earliest surviving Japanese examples date from the 7th century, but the art form later died out in Japan and was revived multiple times. In the latter half of the 19th century, in particular, cloisonné techniques advanced rapidly as Japan devoted effort to artistic development in the process of joining the ranks of modern nations. Elaborate Japanese cloisonné also garnered high praise abroad after pieces were displayed at world’s fairs and other international exhibitions.

As a result, cloisonné production for foreign markets played a part in the Japanese export industry. This plaque features a majestic cloisonné depiction of Mount Fuji on a large, 113 cm-wide bronze plate. The gradations used to depict the foot of the mountain and the drifting clouds of varying density display the advantages of lineless cloisonné and can even make you forget that this plaque is cloisonné at all. This plaque was made for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and is said to have been displayed in Chicago in the painting section. The artist, Namikawa Sōsuke, was born in 1847 and became one of modern Japan’s foremost cloisonné artists, specializing in lineless cloisonné. He won awards at numerous fairs and exhibitions in and outside Japan, and was appointed Imperial Household Artist to create works of art for the Tokyo Imperial Palaces and other imperial residences in 1896. Namikawa Sōsuke (1847–1910), was a leading cloisonné metalwork artist of the Meiji era and an Imperial Household Artist. This astonishingly realistic image is rendered without outlines and looks almost like a painting. Indeed, it was displayed in the painting section at the Chicago World's Fair of 1893.

— Museum description: Tokyo National Museum (CC BY 4.0), via ColBase / Japan Search.