History of Noritake China.

Noritake China was founded as The Noritake Company in 1904 by the Morimura family, which also produced white porcelain under the company Morimura Gumi, a pioneer in Japan’s foreign trade industry. Prior to 1963, the company was known as Nippon Toki Kaisha, Ltd. but was then given the English name Noritake Company, Ltd. Noritake takes its name from the village of Noritake in Nagoya City, Japan, where the principal company office was located.

Their early china dinnerware featured the "Hand Painted Nippon" design around the familiar wreath-circled "M" (which stands for Morimura) on the backstamp of most pieces. "Noritake" appears on backstamps of other pieces, with either "Japan" or "Made in Japan" present on most of these.

The United States has always been the largest customer of the Company, and the U.S. helped them stay in business following World War II. Their Dinnerware was called Rose China from 1945 to 1948, because of concern that a shortage of raw materials and skilled labor would affect their high quality standards.

In 1956 they  began to diversify its product line with the addition of stainless steel flatware. Crystal glassware was added in 1961, and earthenware and stoneware were added in 1971. Today, Their china is known throughout the world for its quality and elegant design.

Van Patten, Joan. The Collector's Encyclopedia of Noritake. Paducah: Collector Books, 1994