In 1982, Dr. Howard D. Kottler, a ceramicist and professor at Washington State University, held a traveling exhibition entitled Noritake Art Deco Porcelains that featured about 150 pieces from his extensive collection. Since then, the number of American collectors of Japanese ceramics—mostly exports to the United States—has gradually increased. This movement has since expanded beyond the hobbyist's pursuit of simply collecting individual pieces, and evolved into academic research and the dissemination of information. It appears, however, that these developments were not simply the result of the collectors' preference for exotic ceramics, but were also based in the close personal connections to family and friends, as families brought out these dishes on such special occasions as Easter and Christmas dinner.

Meanwhile, interest in modern ceramics was also beginning to grow in Japan, and in October of 2001 an industrial tourism establishment named “Noritake's Forest” was opened on the grounds of Noritake's main headquarters, and the birthplace of modern ceramics. Such cultural facilities as the Nagoya Ceramics Exhibition Hall in the city of Nagoya, as well as in Seto and other areas that had historically provided support for the modern Japanese ceramic industry, also started to attract attention. Having received little attention academically some twenty years earlier, the arts and crafts of the Meiji era have gradually become the subject of intense study, and continuous research has been carried out by such organizations as the Study Group of Modern Ceramics. As a result, export porcelains from the Meiji era onward have attracted considerable nationwide interest through such events as the 150th anniversary of the opening of port of Yokohama.

Old Noritake and other export porcelains from the Meiji era onward were once merely regarded as industrial products, thus making it worthwhile to consider the Old Noritake exhibition held at the Seto City Art Museum in 2003 to be a landmark exhibition, since it featured these “industrial-use” products at one of the public art museums.

At around the same time, Internet auctions were becoming something the general public could easily participate in, and the term Old Noritake became more widelyknown to a broad cross-section of the local population.

Export porcelains from the Meiji era and beyond incorporate a host of manufacturing techniques, such as Coralene and raised patterns, which, while not impossible, are still extremely difficult to reproduce today in view of both time and cost. Even lusterware, which was widely made during the Art Deco period, cannot be reproduced today in tableware due to the environmental safetyconcerns associated with their metal content.

The Japan Porcelain Society represents a collection of people who have come to cherish the various export ceramics created in the Meiji era and thereafter, who still marvel at the techniques used in their creation, and want to enjoy them together. We look forward to seeing the further participation of as many people as possible.