By the time he was granted his position as an Imperial artist it had been many years since he personally crafted a vase. However Namikawa closely monitored the creation of each piece, as well as doing much of the design, and the entire firing process himself. The cloisonné industry dropped during the Taisho era (1912-1926) and Namikawa retired from mentoring and overseeing the artists and work in his studio in 1915. The Western demand for his wares was no doubt impacted by the First World War and his workshop closed entirely a few years later. He died at the age of 82 in 1927.

Namikawa’s work, even during his lifetime surrounded by hundreds of masters of cloisonné, stood out from those working in Kyoto and elsewhere. A Western visitor to his studio, Herbert Ponting, observed that, “I [Ponting] was glad I had seen the other places [workshops] first, as I was thus better able to appreciate, from what I saw that day, the excellence of the workmanship which has placed the Namikawa product in a class which few of his contemporaries ever reach.” Ponting’s appraisal of Namikawa’s work was not without merit as the demand for his pieces surpassed the workshop’s ability to produce and sell vases.

His designs were taken from nature, as so many cloisonné artists’ were and are. He was overwhelmingly drawn to flowers with many vases swathed in delicate, soft petals, leaves, and branches, a motif that dominates the Wisteria vase. In tandem with the flora, Namikawa also employed black breasted roosters, hawks in flight, and darting dragons in his retinue of imagery. The occasional landscape, scene of water, or royal procession were also featured.

Something other than beauty is visible in Namikawa’s work; innovation in glazing, enameling, and firing during this Golden Age of cloisonné. Namikawa demonstrably took advantage of new technology developed by the Ahern company and German chemist Gottfried Wagener, an expert on firing and glazing, scientific developments that changed the face of Japanese cloisonné forever. Namikawa’s technique was unparalleled with his use of the new translucent enamels and wiring techniques, and his pioneering approach to design.

Technique

There are multiple types of cloisonné within Japan that have developed over the centuries. They are essentially variants on cloisonné and champleve, and the term shippo is applicable to both in Japanese. There is musen-jippo in which the wires are removed from the metal base once the enamel paste has been applied, leaving a seamless finish to the work. There is also “bodiless enamel” called shotai-jippo ( plique-a-jour cloisonné), in which there is no backing for the cloisons and a translucent enamel (suki-jippo) is used to allow light through the piece. Namikawa Yasuyuki worked in suki-jippo, translucent enamel with metal bodies for backing. This smooth, translucent enamel was the pivotal point in transforming Japanese cloisonné from an offshoot of Chinese techniques to its own truly unique form, looking unlike anything else in Eastern Asia.

This was a very concentrated effort on the part of Japanese cloisonné craftsmen to improve the quality of enamel and wiring work they could achieve. The Golden Age of Japanese cloisonné technique was brought about from collaborations with German chemist Gottfried Wagener and Japanese institutes, companies, and artists and their workshops like Namikawa Yasuyuki.

The work of Wagener and other Japanese cloisonné masters led to a major shift in styles, especially in Namikawa Yasuyuki’s workshop. Enamel was now able to cover larger sections without wire support; for Namikawa and his contemporaries this meant that the once heavily brocaded scenes dominated by wiring were now obsolete. Namikawa shifted to a more minimalistic approach, containing the heavy wiring to the rims of a piece while the central design was left to drift in a pool of enamel. Before this, design trends in Japanese cloisonné, much like Chinese cloisonné, were heavily reliant on the capacity of the cloisons and the maneuverability of the wiring. Now there was an approach of ‘pictorial emphasis’, meaning more attention could be given to the enamel design itself rather than the wiring, and greater value was placed on blank space. We see all of this executed in the Wisteria presentation vase. The vines float in a pool of deep blue enamel, a color which was highly experimented with as shades of blue were particularly difficult to concoct. Namikawa adopted this design process fairly early into his artistic career and in order to bring the technique to its full potential he perfected firing and smoothing methods ensuring there was no more graininess or texture in a finished piece. Again, the unbroken texture and pockmark-free Wisteria vase is an excellent example of this effect.

More complete sections of enamel meant that there was no need for decorative scrolls and other marginalia and allowed for a less cluttered scene. Instead of an entire background taken up by cloisons, there is a smooth ground of enamel. Namikawa clearly took advantage of this, a trademark of his distinct style being a sense of minimalism. That is not to say every piece he designed followed this blueprint: several of his vases are covered in floral and faunal designs that overlap and fill space. The difference between Namikawa’s busier designs and the over-embellished designs of the past is that these elements were now placed purposely rather than as support structures that did not add to the overall story of the design. He was clearly alternating in style on a piece by piece basis, as it appeared that the more traditional, busier scenes were for imperial commissions, while his floating designs, suspended in an enamel pool, were for the commercial market and appealed more to Western buyers.

This aspect of minimalism in the Wisteria vase is what makes this piece so interesting. There are one or two other examples of imperial commissions done by Namikawa in a similar style to this vase; however, the majority appear to lean towards more traditional scenes that bustle with the activity of parades or butterflies.

Another hallmark of Namikawa Yasuyuki’s work was his use of shaped metal inserts, both regularly and irregularly shaped. Irregularly shaped inserts created more naturalistic leaves, bamboo reeds, rocks, and wisteria vines. This is how he achieved the effect of such delicate, floating petals in the vase that cast shadows upon one another as if the moon was truly shining down on them. He was no longer beholden to bulky support wires and could create any illusion he wished, like Wisteria vines gently blowing in the night. Or are they floating down a still stream with the reflection of the moon upon the deep blue water? Even in his busier scenes the wire work is impeccable, the wings of a butterfly do not give them the appearance of wiring, just the natural joints and veins of a wing. His designs, both busy and simple, also provide an accompaniment to the flower arrangement or Ikebana that the vases held. The Wisteria vase is an obvious receptacle for wisteria vines, or for brighter and more contrasting flowers.

The Continuity of the Golden Age

Though Namikawa’s workshop shut down during the Taisho era (1912-1926), along with many other esteemed workshops, cloisonné and the scientific innovation and research made during the Meiji restoration have not gone to waste. Cloisonné is still purchased and valued by museums and private collectors alike, and new artisans tend to their enamel crafts everyday. The Ando Company is an institution that has managed to survive to this day since its opening in the early 19th century. It continues to sell beautiful cloisonné work and provides an opportunity for traditional Japanese techniques and artisans to continue to improve and be enjoyed.

Namikawa Yasuyuki’s work is astounding and has maintained its popularity and value throughout the last century. This is due, in a large part, to the way it embodies the combination of Western and Japanese science and art. However, detailed research on Meiji history is not necessary to appreciate the brilliance of an object like the Wisteria Vase. The immersive nature of Namikawa’s work takes a viewer in, regardless of their previous knowledge of Japanese art history. You see the vase and suddenly you are walking down a wisteria lined path on a humid summer night, the moon lighting your way and perfectly highlighting the delicate pink and purple petals. The sweet and powerful scent of the flowers drifts through the warm air and guides you home, or to the nearest sake house.

If you have Namikawa Yasuyuki cloisonné you wish to have appraised or sold please get in touch for a free auction estimate.