"Made in Occupied Japan" can be confusing mark

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By HELAINE FENDELMAN and JOE ROSSON
Sunday, November 05, 2006
DEAR HELAINE AND JOE: Could you please tell me about this teapot? It is brown with floral decoration and is marked with "MG" surrounded by "Made in Occupied Japan" in a circle. Thank you. _ S. L., Farrell, Pa.

DEAR S. L.: When many people hear the term "Occupied Japan," they immediately think of pottery and porcelain, but there are many other types of items that bear this designation. These include such things as metal and lacquer wares plus numerous objects made from wood, paper, glass and cloth.

The collectors' focus, however, seems to be on the ceramic items, which can be found in a great variety of both styles and quality. We are sorry, but most of the pieces we see marked "Occupied Japan" look very "dime store" to us, but some high quality items were produced and these are very attractive to current enthusiasts.

There is a great deal of confusion about the wares marked "Occupied Japan" and this may be because there was a great deal of confusion in Japan after the end of World War II. Objects marked "Made in Occupied Japan" or "Occupied Japan" were made between the end of the Second World War and April 18, 1952 when the occupation by American troops ended.

However, a ruling by the United States Bureau of Customs in the late 1940's held that articles manufactured or produced in Japan could be marked to indicate the country of origin with, "Made in Occupied Japan," "Made in Japan," "Japan" or "Occupied Japan."

The New York Times reported that the first shipment of post war Japanese goods arrived in New York City on August 10, 1948, and all were marked "Made in Occupied Japan." However, this may not have been universally true for all shipments from Japan to this country during the American occupation. There is a story that managers of Kresge stores were given a rubber stamp with the words "Made in Occupied Japan" and instructions to use it on any Japanese item that did not carry this or a similar mark.

There is no doubt that not all items made in Japan between the end of the Second World War and April 18, 1952 were marked "Occupied Japan," or "Made in Occupied Japan." But if a collector is presented with two identical items one marked "Occupied Japan" and the other not, the collector will chose the example with the "Occupied Japan" (or "Made in Occupied Japan") mark and will tend to pay more for that example.

There are all sorts of other marks that are associated with the phrase "Occupied Japan," but for the most part, these do not supply additional information about the piece unless the additional mark happens to be "Noritake." The mark found on S. L.'s teapot is an "M" superimposed over a "G" surrounded by "Made in Occupied Japan." Unfortunately, there is no information currently available as to what (or to whom) the initials "M" "G" might refer.

This teapot has a brown glaze and is decorated with floral and trellis enamel decoration. It is in the style of inexpensive English teapots that were primarily made during the second quarter of the 20th century. For insurance replacement purposes, this circa 1950 "Made in Occupied Japan" example should be valued in the $25 to $35 range if it is in absolutely perfect condition with no chips, cracks or losses to the enamel.

(Helaine Fendelman and Joe Rosson are the authors of the "Price It Yourself" (HarperResource, $19.95). Questions can be mailed to them at P.O. Box 12208, Knoxville, TN 37912-0208.)