Nippon and Japan are both ways of referring to the country of Japan. As collectors of Nippon, we look for porcelain wares marked uniquely with “NIPPON,” in addition to any other marking(s). The era was created in two actions. The first was the passage of “The McKinley Tariff of 1890” which inaugurated the era. After nearly thirty years had passed, alterations to the Act required changing the name that would be accepted from Nippon to Japan. This action ended this unique marking and thus the Nippon Era. The Nippon Era encompasses the years 1891 to 1921. If you look at the passage below, lifted exactly from the act passed in 1890, you can see how the period began:

"That on and after the first day of March, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, all articles of foreign manufacture, such as are usually or ordinarily marked, stamped, branded or labelled, and all packages containing such or other imported articles, shall, respectively, be plainly marked, stamped, branded, or labeled in legible English words, so as to indicate the country of their origin; and unless so marked, stamped or branded, or labeled they shall not be admitted to entry."

The McKinley Tariff of 1890 was the first to require “country of origin” markings in our history (according to Publication 2975 of the U.S. International Trade Commission). It was intended to protect businesses in the United States from competition by making the imports more expensive. It was in response to many (mostly fledgling) businesses in the United States who complained that it was difficult for them to compete with some of the imports entering our country. Unique to the wares that were sent to the United States in this era, beginning in 1891, is the use of “NIPPON” to mark the country of origin, not Japan. This was at first accepted, but as time went on, the U. S. Treasury specified more clearly that the labeling of items from this country must be “JAPAN.” As time went on, many clarifications and alterations were made to the Tariff of 1890, but the one that affects us as collectors is the following which ends our era by changing what was accepted as a country name to label items from this country. It should be noted that even in this narrow window of time – 1891 – 1921 – some items from Japan entered with “JAPAN” as the “country of origin,” not “NIPPON.” Determining these can be tricky, but much has come to light over the many years and experienced collectors are generally able to discern those that fit into the “NIPPON ERA.” Also, tricky are wares that truly look as though they belong in this era but have no specific Nippon mark. The many years of collecting has educated the buyers that some of these items had paper labels or that they may have been in a case or crate bearing  the :country of origin.” Again, though it cannot be dogmatically asserted that an item is a Nippon era item or not unless clearly marked as such, becoming familiar with the wares of this timeframe helps any collector discern if it should be. Last, when we talk about a Nippon collector, we are primarily referring to one who collects such things as Fancyware (vases, urns, and the like), or beautiful but practical items that graced the homes of so much of our country in this era to serve their families and friends, and toys and dolls that began to appear in the United States during the first World War, when we would not import as we were at war with our primary supplier of such things – Germany.

In 1921, the following U.S. Treasury Decision, under Customs and Other Laws, ended the Nippon Era: