Simply, Nippon means Japan and while the “Nippon” mark served its purpose to comply with the McKinley Tariff Act of 1891 for the next thirty years, Customs Officials decided, in 1921, that any piece imported from Japan should be marked “Japan” and not marked “Nippon.” So, the “Nippon” mark was no longer the

Is All Nippon porcelain marked?

This law stated that all manufactured goods imported to the United States be marked with the country of origin. Since Nippon was the Japanese word for the country of Japan, porcelain made there for the U.S. market was marked Nippon to comply with the new law.

Is there unmarked Nippon?

Many new Nippon reproductions on the market are much more difficult to identify than previous fakes and copies. Many new pieces are now direct copies of old shapes and original patterns. These reproductions are unmarked thus removing one clue buyers had to help detect previous Nippon fakes and copies.