Imari Port — The Original Export Route for Japanese Porcelain

Imari Port, on the western coast of Saga Prefecture, was the shipping point for all Arita porcelain exported to Europe through the Dutch East India Company from 1650 to 1757 — a century during which European aristocrats considered Japanese porcelain more valuable than gold and paid extraordinary prices for the 'Imari ware' that defined Baroque decorative arts. The port town itself is quiet today, but the Imari City Historical Museum traces the export route in detail.