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Imari is the European name for a style of porcelain made in the seventeenth and eighteenth century in the Japanese town Arita and exported from the port of Imari. In the seventeenth century, a polychrome style of Imari ware was developed, inspired by styles of Chinese porcelain. The ware flourished largely because the Chinese banned maritime trade between 1655 and 1684. In its place, the Dutch East India Company began trading Imari ware, which soon dominated the market. When China resumed trade, its own potters in turn imitated Imari ware, as did European manufacturers.