Multicolored and Gold Japanese Cloisonné Floral Vase

Ceramic

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L.T. Jordan Institute for International Awareness

Japanese cloisonne floral vase given to the Jordans by Masanobu Tsuji.: Image of the multicolored Cloisonné vase decorated with a floral pattern. There are white, red, blue, pink, and orange flowers on gold.
Japanese cloisonne floral vase given to the Jordans by Masanobu Tsuji.

Image of the multicolored Cloisonné vase decorated with a floral pattern. There are white, red, blue, pink, and orange flowers on gold.

Name/Title

Multicolored and Gold Japanese Cloisonné Floral Vase

Entry/Object ID

JI2025000379

Description

Multicolored Cloisonné vase decorated with a floral pattern. The vase is in the classic Kutani-Satsuma style with a millefleur pattern, meaning “a thousand flowers” in French. It was made in Japan.

Context

The vase was given to Mr. and Mrs. Jordan by Masanobu Tsuji when he came for dinner at the Jordan’s home on January 10, 1957. Masanobu Tsuji was a Japanese army officer and politician during World War II. He was an important tactical planner in the Imperial Japanese Army and was involved in atrocities such as the Bataan Death March and Sook Ching. He personally oversaw the Pantingan River Massacre and managed to evade prosecution for Japanese war crimes after the end of the war. However, he returned to Japan in 1949 where he was elected to the Diet and worked as spy for the CIA during the Cold War. It is unclear why he met with the Jordans during this time.

Ethnography

Cultural Region

Country

Japan

Continent

Asia