tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20552525.post-35820051231063946512007-10-12T12:52:00.000+09:002007-10-12T13:09:45.815+09:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Z5mkimUm5Y8/Rw7xepFlI2I/AAAAAAAAAIM/x523eRatK3A/s1600-h/paper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp3.blogger.com/_Z5mkimUm5Y8/Rw7xepFlI2I/AAAAAAAAAIM/x523eRatK3A/s320/paper.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120295335094461282" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Z5mkimUm5Y8/Rw7xfZFlI3I/AAAAAAAAAIU/mb7IKE-mkGQ/s1600-h/results.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp2.blogger.com/_Z5mkimUm5Y8/Rw7xfZFlI3I/AAAAAAAAAIU/mb7IKE-mkGQ/s320/results.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120295347979363186" border="0" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Z5mkimUm5Y8/Rw7xf5FlI4I/AAAAAAAAAIc/FR4yZya6rpQ/s1600-h/results+a.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp0.blogger.com/_Z5mkimUm5Y8/Rw7xf5FlI4I/AAAAAAAAAIc/FR4yZya6rpQ/s320/results+a.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5120295356569297794" border="0" /></a><br />Nippon Ichi--the best in Japan--is a phrase often heard or seen; for example, driving not far from Mishima where our gallery is we come to a small town in the Izu peninsula that has a sign that reads 'Nippon Ichi beautiful town! Or, in a past issue of the gourmet magazine they had a whole issue devoted to Nippon Ichi, the best sushi restaurant, the best bakery....glad to say the best beer is my local favorite Baird beer! Anyway, Asahi Newspaper has been running a Nippon Ichi series recently and one column was devoted to Nippon Ichi for pottery; here not necessarily meaning the best, yet the the most popular top ten. A total of 17,221 folks took part in the survey and the results were listed in the column, photos shown here. I will let you try to figure out the kanji--next to the number is the pottery style and then in parenthesis the prefecture where the style is located -- and post the results in a near future blog. Good luck! The number on the far right is how many people voted for the style and the gentleman seen is Nakajima Seinosuke, a former antique dealer now TV celebrity for an appraisal program. By the way, the next Nippon Ichi column planned for the column after this one was Nippon Ichi wine, a short list for sure. The photo of the kiln is that of Sakaida KakiemonXIV...hint..hint....Robert Yellinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00501147854506859253noreply@blogger.com