A set of five fluted dishes decorated with draped branches dating from the mid to later Edo period enclosed in a period age-darkened wooden box. Several have had repairs made with lacquer nad powdered silver, enhancing the beauty and sense of age. They all bear on the base the Mizoro stamp impressed into the raw earth. Each is 16 x 10 x 4.5 cm (6 x 4 x 2 inches) and all are in overall fine condition, with the silver repairs blending with the finely crackled glaze and dark iron decoration.
Many people think of Kiyomizu-yaki as the only type of pottery in Kyoto, but there are other types of pottery such as Awata-yaki, Otowa-yaki, Iwakura-yaki, Asahi-yaki, Raku-yaki, and Mizoro-yaki. Mizoro-yaki is a type of Kyo-yaki that was fired in Atago-gun, North of central Kyoto. There are many mysteries and rumors about the origins of the pottery. According to Tauchi Baiken's "Thoughts on Ceramics" written in the Ansei era, Ninsei Nonomura started Mizoro ware. Other documents, from the Enpo period, Taihei of Mizoro Village became an apprentice at Higashiyama Seikanji Yaki Ichimonjiya, and then returned to the village and opened a kiln. According to the "100 Year History of Kyo Yaki", it was established in 1554 AD by Yozo Unsonin. In any event, it is generally agreed to have begun by the mid 17th century, and lasted for about two hundred years.
