Noritake

All About Noritake China

Brand: Noritake Country HQ: Japan Year Founded: 1904 

Company Status: Active Founded By: Ichizaemon Morimura and Toyo Morimura

Makers of: China

Description: The history of Noritake starts even before the company was officially founded. A man named Ichizaemon Morimura and his brother Toyo Morimura worked together with the goal of increasing international trade in Japan to bring more wealth back to their country. With Ichizaemon in Japan and Toyo in New York, USA, the two opened their trade lines by starting the Morimura Brothers store that sold Japanese items. After seeing the store's success in selling porcelain goods, the brothers looked in to what it would take to make some of their own porcelain pieces in Japan.

Though the two started working together in 1876, it was not until 1904 that the early Noritake was founded under the name Nippon Toki Gomei Kaisha. Officially, the company's name was not changed to "Noritake" until 1981. After a decade of hard work, their first Western-style table setting was made for export in 1914. From there, the company has been met with continued success and is known for its high-quality and unique Japanese and hand-painted styles. Some of Noritake's most popular and successful patterns include Adagio, Magnificence, and Barrymore.