Page 18 - March 2025

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16 The NaTioNal ButtonBulleTiN March 2025

Peony button in 1-1/8, 7/8, and 5/8-inch sizes with matching Yuzan-marked mini vase.

Yuzan’s brooches, obidome, and miniature vases were marked with their 3-kanji
mark. The pictorial designs on these non-button items are the key to identifying
more unmarked round buttons likely made by Yuzan. This next group of buttons
are smooth-faced with designs that are painted only, not molded. They have
the same line of gold luster at the rim, peg shank, and glazed areas as the round
buttons with molded flowers already discussed. The smooth buttons are found in
peony, dragon, hibiscus, and phoenix bird designs made in two or three sizes and
multiple colorways.

The Collector’s Encyclopedia of Buttons (Luscomb, 1967) supports these buttons
as Aritas. The same four button designs are shown in the bottom row of the Arita
illustration on page 9 of that book. Also, a rare retail card of the peony buttons
is shown at the end of the article with the word ARITA stamped at the top of the
card.

Hibiscus button and Yuzan-marked mini dish.
The round smooth-faced buttons are
shown with Yuzan-marked items in a
matching design. Red phoenix bird button with larger
matching Yuzan-marked pin in green.
A large version of Dragon button with marked mini
the smooth-faced dish shown bottom left.
button has a raised
border with a line of gold luster just inside the border.
These 1.5-inch buttons have been found in the pink floral
design shown on the next page and also in the dragon
design.