Editing Meiji era (section)

=== Enamels===
During the Meiji era, Japanese [[cloisonné]] enamel reached a technical peak, producing items more advanced than any that had existed before.{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=252}} The period from 1890 to 1910 was known as the "Golden age" of Japanese enamels.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Japonisme and the rise of the modern art movement : the arts of the Meiji period : the Khalili collection|publisher=Thames & Hudson|year=2013|isbn=978-0-500-23913-1|editor-last=Irvine|editor-first=Gregory|first=Gregory|last=Irvine|chapter=''Wakon Yosai''- Japanese spirit, Western techniques: Meiji period arts for the West|location=New York|pages=177|oclc=853452453}}</ref> Artists experimented with pastes and with the firing process to produce ever larger blocks of enamel, with less need for ''cloisons'' (enclosing metal strips).{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=252}} During this period, enamels with a design unique to Japan, in which flowers, birds and insects were used as themes, became popular. Designs also increasingly used areas of blank space.{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=254}} The two most famous enamelers of this era were [[Namikawa Yasuyuki]] and [[Namikawa Sōsuke]], whose family names sound the same but who were not related.{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=254}} Namikawa Sōsuke promoted his work as technically innovative and adopted a style resembling fine paintings. Namikawa Yasuyuki was more conservative, opting for geometrical patterns but gradually becoming more pictorial during his career.{{sfn|Earle|1999|p=255}} Along with the two Namikawa, the [[Ando Cloisonné Company]] has produced many high-quality cloisonné works. Namikawa Yasuyuki's ''Vase with Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons'' is one of the finest examples of cloisonné from this era.<ref>Toyoro Hida, Gregory Irvine, Kana Ooki, Tomoko Hana and Yukari Muro. ''Namikawa Yasuyuki and Japanese Cloisonné The Allure of Meiji Cloisonné: The Aesthetic of Translucent Black'', p.127, [[Mainichi Shimbun|The Mainichi Newspapers Co, Ltd]], 2017</ref><ref>[https://ginza-shinseido.com/%E6%B5%B7%E5%A4%96%E5%8D%9A%E8%A6%A7%E4%BC%9A%E3%81%AE%E5%8F%97%E8%B3%9E%E6%AD%B4%E3%81%A8%E6%97%A7%E9%82%B8%E5%AE%85%E3%81%AE%E6%A7%8B%E9%80%A0%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89%E8%A6%8B%E3%82%8B%E4%B8%A6%E6%B2%B3/ 海外博覧会の受賞歴と旧邸宅の構造から見る並河靖之の国際的な評価] Ginza Shinseidō</ref> It won a gold medal at the [[Exposition Universelle (1900)|1900 Paris Exposition]] and was designated as an [[Important Cultural Property (Japan)|Important Cultural Property]] in 2025.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://shozokan.nich.go.jp/en/collection/object/SZK000455|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250404150146/https://shozokan.nich.go.jp/en/collection/object/SZK000455|title=Vase with Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons|publisher=[[Museum of the Imperial Collections]]|date=|archive-date=4 April 2025|access-date=4 April 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/pdf/94188001_03.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250324054511/https://www.bunka.go.jp/koho_hodo_oshirase/hodohappyo/pdf/94188001_03.pdf|script-title=ja:文化審議会の答申（国宝・重要文化財（美術工芸品）の指定等）II.解説|language=ja|publisher=[[Agency for Cultural Affairs]]|date=|archive-date=24 March 2025|access-date=4 April 2025}}</ref>
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Vase with Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons, Namikawa Yasuyuki, 1899, 四季花鳥図花瓶, 並河靖之.jpg|''Vase with Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons'', Namikawa Yasuyuki, 1899、[[Museum of the Imperial Collections]]
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