THE ORGANIZATION OF THE CERAMIC INDUSTRY AROUND THE NAGOYA AREA OF JAPAN.

The divisions of the ceramic `table-ware' industry into different production subgroups and the flow of finished products into various markets are indicated in the chart below. `Body' is here used as the shaped but unpainted piece. The following topics will be treated in this paper. Some problems of finishing manufacturers: Before the war, they were a kind of merchant employer (toiya) and had a predominant power over body manufacturers and painters. This was indicative of the backwardness of Japanese economy. Noritake China has an overwhelmingly predominant position in this industry. The Specialized production (which means the division of production processes among finishing manufacturers, body manufacturers and painters, as expressed in the above chart) still exists even though the merchant-employer system has disappeared; but it seems to have backward characteristics compared to integrated manufacturers. Though there is the problem of overproduction in the background, this industry has been working at full capacity.