Otagiri Imari (?) plate, circa 1946-1994

This transfer ware plate imported into the U.S. by Otagiri Merantile Co. is about 7.75" in diameter x .75" high. It has an "OMC JAPAN" label and kiln (?) signature on back. I have not been able to identify the signature, yet. Everything on the front of the plate is outlined in gold, but my camera does not capture that, or the exquisite detail of the transfers. I think it is Imari. Guessing 1970s or 1980s?

Too nice to leave in a thrift shop pile, especially for $.59. I may try to get better images, but this is my third attempt at doing so.

OTAGIRI MERCANTILE COMPANY (early 1946 -1994)

Otagiri Mercantile Company, headquartered in San Francisco, was a Japanese-American manufacturer of stoneware ceramics that started in 1946. The stoneware was produced by a small group of artists who hand painted and glazed an array of forms and decorations.

The Otagiri Mercantile Company was established by Chiyoko and Goro Otagiri after their return to Japan in 1947 and following their release from an internment camp for Japanese Americans.

Chiyoko Otoguro Otagiri was born on May 27, 1905, in a farming family, in Cupertino, California. Her family sent her to Japan for education. She returned when she was 18, and married Goro Otagiri from San Francisco. Chiyoko and Goro had three children. They were incarcerated in the Topaz (Central Utah) concentration camp during World War II. After their release, they moved to Boulder, Colorado, where Goro worked as a Japanese teacher for the Navy.

When Otagiri was active, it was also a third-party manufacturer for the San Francisco Music Box Company, which was once a popular chain store. It also created products private label for other manufacturers for greeting and gift store brands. Original Otagiri Ceramics carry the initials "OMC", and ‘Japan’ on an artistic yellow and gold sticker, or a sticker with the words "Hand Crafted Otagiri Original" and "Japan" at the bottom.