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Lot Essay
The inscription in gold enamel in a reserve on the reverse of the Hell plaque indicates that the set commemorates the Russo-Japanese War; the date within the reserve is Meiji 37, or 1904, the year the war began on February 8. The Japanese army mounted a surprise attack on Russia after Russia reneged on an agreement to withdraw its troops from the Manchurian Peninsula. Japan was victorious in 1905, cementing its control over Korea; Manchuria was restored to the Chinese.
The plaques were made by the Hododa ceramic workshop of Yokohama, a concern that was founded by a former tea merchant by the name of Hododa (also Hodota) Takichi. The Exhibition of the Empire of Japan Official Catalogue of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904 lists “Hodota Takichi of Sakai-cho, Yokohama” as displaying “mantle ornaments, pitchers, flower vases” and other table wares. The shop was among other merchants catering to foreign visitors arriving in the port of Yokohama.
The plaques were made by the Hododa ceramic workshop of Yokohama, a concern that was founded by a former tea merchant by the name of Hododa (also Hodota) Takichi. The Exhibition of the Empire of Japan Official Catalogue of the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis in 1904 lists “Hodota Takichi of Sakai-cho, Yokohama” as displaying “mantle ornaments, pitchers, flower vases” and other table wares. The shop was among other merchants catering to foreign visitors arriving in the port of Yokohama.