Imari??

[greenacres]

Are these three dishes considered Imari? They were purchased at a fair in maybe the 30's

[greenacres]

This is the back. It says "made in Japan". Means at least pre war.

[greenacres]

Better view of plate.

[mart]

Porcelain produced around both Imari and Arita and I think a couple of other towns were all shipped to the west from the Imari port !! Thats how it got its name !!  It can be several different styles and still be called Imari !!  So by that,, your plates sure could be called Imari Porcelain !!
Its sort of a blanket term for a regional pottery whatever the style !!

[Mat]

Hi, here is a bit of info on this kind of porcelain: http://gotheborg.com/glossary/geisha_girl.shtml . I would not call this Imari, the decoration is not in Imari style, and this pattern was produced in many areas of Japan. Imari indeed got it's name from the port of Imari, but that port was just a local port from where the porcelain made in the Arita area was shipped to Nagasaki. Nagasaki was the only port where Europeans (in fact only the Dutch) were allowed to trade with Japan in Edo period, and they had to stay on a small island off Nagasaki, called Deshima.
Mat

[Mat]

And I forgot, the 1930s may well be the time of production, certainly after 1921...

[mart]

Ahh  Ha  !!  Learned something new !!  When looking for these I saw several similar listed as Imari but did not check Gotheborg,, which I should have done !!  Thanks Mat !! 
Should have thought " if only marked with the MIJ how it is known where shipped from and does style make a difference since others were similar" !! 

[greenacres]

Thank you Mat. Interesting. I will check your site.