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Hi, I recently came upon these 2 'vases of a thousand faces' and was looking for some clarity to the meaning of the inscription on the bottom.

From research the most I've been able to discover is that there appears to be a 'shimazu' symbol at the top of each set of kanji.

Any further information about them would be greatly appreciated.

Both marks are: Dai 大 Nippon 日本 - Hotoda (Hododa) 保土田. There is some confusion about the name Hotoda or Hododa, Hotoda is seen the most, but according an advertisement it's Hododa, see image.

Takichi Hododa 1868 born in Kanagawa Prefecture, Tachibana-gun.
In 1890 he started to work with Satsuma pottery. It seems he started with buying blanks (among others from Chin Jukan) and painted these or lets others paint them.
In 1893 he opened his store in Yokohama: Hododa Shoten.
In 1897 he became a manufacturer and exporter of Satsuma ware, fine arts, curiosities, etc. from Yokohama to the USA and Europa So from that time on, it's likely that Satsuma pieces with Hododa's name were made for him and not by him.
His products were made under demand at small factories and studios, set up quickly to meet foreign demands.
In 1904 he was an exhibitor at the St. Louis (USA) World Fair.
There is no record known by me from when he died or when his store ended.

Regards,
Martin.

That is really interesting. Would it be safer to assume then that they would be valued lower as it appears they represent an early mass production, in his name?

Regards,
Lewis.

That's possible.
There are still a lot of items - mostly vases - with Hododa's name and additions like (Dai) Nippon, Satsuma (Yaki) and the name of the painter and or potter. Most of those items with decorations like the ones here. With different levels of quality, the best having prices above $500.
Martin.

Thanks for all your help Martin, you've definitely given me insight into these vases.

Lewis.

Here are a couple of links dating back about six years to some threads concerning Hododa Satsuma pieces (the indecision about how to transcribe the name was rife at the time). In the thread at the second link, I show a photo of an approximately two foot-tall Hododa censer, repeated below, with finely gilded molded figures similar to the jars shown by Lewis. I'd photographed the piece in a Palm Beach, Florida gallery when passing by on a trip. When I stopped there again about six months later, the item had been sold for about $1500.00.

It's my experience that this quality of Meiji Satsuma ware retains high value. I don't believe Hododa or other of the famous Meiji era ceramics painting studios mass-produced patterns of this complexity, at least not on a scale like the Chinese produced the so-called "Canton" famille rose patterns. Such high quality wares were still helping the Japanese build and maintain a reputation for quality ceramics at turn of the 19th=20th century international trade fairs and expositions in the West.

http://www.asianart.com/phpforum/index.php?method=detailAll&Id=38348

http://www.asianart.com/phpforum/index.php?method=detailAll&Id=83715

Best regards,

Bill H

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