Vintage Arita five ships motif (五艘船) Plate

This lovely vintage plate is a modern revival of what is known as the five ships motif (五艘船) and was originally produced in Arita, Japan in the 18th century. The gaijin figures depicted are The Dutch. The mark reads Shuho (秀峰). This is a brand mark of Arita Bussan, a ceramics merchant founded in Arita in 1906 by the 4th generation Yazaemon (弥左衛門). The company stopped exporting around 1985. This very interesting 9.5”plate documents the early cross cultural interaction between East and West. It would make an interesting conversation item.