Japanese Pottery

INTRODUCTION AND PREHISTORY

Continental emigrants of the 3rd Century B.C. (the beginning of the Yayoi Period ), introduced the use of the Wheel and Cultivation of Rice along with the Metal Age , and eventually (in the 3rd to 4th Centuries A.D.), the Anagama Kiln in which stoneware fired at high temperatures embellished with natural ash glaze was produced. Japanese pottery (陶芸, Jp. ''tōgei''; also 焼きもの, Jp. ''yakimono'') was heavily influenced by Chinese , and Korean Pottery , which contributed to Japanese pottery over the ages.

MEDIEVAL POTTERY

Medieval Kiln s enabled more refined production of Stoneware , which was still produced in the late 20th Century , especially in central Honshu around the city of Seto ( Aichi prefecture), the wares of which were so widely used that Seto-mono became the generic term for ceramics in Japan. The overlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi 's Korean campaigns of the late 16th Century were dubbed the "ceramic wars," since the importation of Korean potters appeared to be the Koreans' major contribution. These potters introduced a variety of new techniques and styles in their artifacts that were greatly admired for the Tea Ceremony . They also discovered in northern Kyushu the proper ingredients needed to produce Porcelain and soon dazzled the guests at Daimyo banquets with the first Japanese-made porcelain.

20TH CENTURY TO PRESENT DAY

Interest in the humble art of the village potter was revived in a folk movement of the 1920s by such master potters as Hamada Shoji and Kawai Kanjiro . These artists studied traditional glazing techniques to preserve native wares in danger of disappearing. A number of institutions came under the aegis of the Cultural Properties Protection Division . The kilns at Tamba , overlooking Kobe , continued to produce the daily wares used in the Tokugawa Period , while adding modern shapes. Most of the village wares were made anonymously by local potters for utilitarian purposes. Local styles, whether native or imported, tended to be continued without alteration into the present. In Kyushu, kilns set up by Korean potters in the 16th century, such as at Koishibara and its offshoot at Onta , perpetuated 16th-century Korean peasant wares. In Okinawa , the production of village ware continued under several leading masters, with Kaneshiro Jiro honored as a mukei bunkazai.

The modern masters of the traditional kilns still bring the ancient formulas in pottery and porcelain to new heights of achievement at Shiga , Ige , Karatsu , Hagi , and Bizen . Yamamoto Masao of Bizen and Miwa Kyusetsu of Hagi were designated as living cultural treasures ('' Mukei Bunkazai '' 無形文化財). Only a half-dozen potters were so honored by 1989 , either as representatives of famous kiln wares or as creators of superlative techniques in Glazing or decoration; two groups were designated for preserving the wares of distinguished ancient kilns.

In the old capital of Kyoto , the Raku family continued to produce the rough Tea Bowl s that had so delighted Hideyoshi. At Mino , continued to reconstruct the classic formulas of Momoyama-era Seto-type tea wares at Mino, such as the Oribe copper-green glaze and Shino ware's prized milky glaze. Artist potters experimented endlessly at the Kyoto and Tokyo arts universities to recreate traditional porcelain and its decorations under such ceramic teachers as Fujimoto Yoshimichi , a mukei bunkazai. Ancient porcelain kilns around Arita in Kyushu were still maintained by the lineage of Sakaida Kakiemon XIV and Imaizume Imaiemon XIII , hereditary porcelain makers to the Nabeshima Clan ; both were heads of groups designated mukei bunkazai (see Kakiemon and Imari Porcelain ).

In contrast, by the end of the 1980s, many master potters no longer worked at major or ancient kilns, but were making classic wares in various parts of Japan. In Tokyo, a notable example is Tsuji Seimei , who brought his clay from Shiga but potted in the Tokyo area. A number of artists were engaged in reconstructing Chinese styles of decoration or glazes, especially the blue-green Celadon and the watery-green Qingbai . One of the most beloved Chinese glazes in Japan is the chocolate-brown Tenmoku glaze that covered the peasant tea bowls brought back from Southern Song China (in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries) by Zen monks. For their Japanese users, these chocolate-brown wares embodied the Zen aesthetic of Wabi (rustic simplicity). In the United States, a notable example of the use of tenmoku glazes may be found in the innovative crystalline pots thrown by Japanese-born artist Hideaki Miyamura .

STYLES OF JAPANESE POTTERY

Arita-yaki – Produced in Saga . Introduced by Korea n potters at the beginning of the Edo Period .

Bizen-yaki – Produced in Okayama . Also called Inbe-yaki. A reddish-brown pottery, which is believed to have originated in the 6th Century .

Hagi-yaki – Produced in Yamaguchi . Since it is burned at a relatively low temperature, it is fragile and transmits the warmth of its contents quickly.

Karatsu-yaki – Produced in Saga . The most produced pottery in western Japan. Believed to have started in the 16th Century . Greatly influenced by Korean potters.

Kutani-yaki – Produced in Ishikawa .

Mino-yaki – Produced in Gifu . Includes Shino-yaki , Oribe-yaki , Setoguro , and Ki-Seto .

Onda-yaki – Produced in Kyushu . Produced by families and passed on only to their own children. The outstanding fact is that they still produce it without electricity.

Raku-yaki – Produced in Kyoto . There is a proverb of the hierarchy of ceramic styles used for tea ceremony: 'First, Raku(-yaki). Second, Hagi. Third, Karatsu.'

Ryumonji-yaki – Produced in Kagoshima . Started by Korean potters about four hundred years ago.

Seto-yaki – Produced in Aichi . The most produced Japanese pottery in Japan. Sometimes, the term Seto-yaki (or Seto-mono) stands for all Japanese pottery.

Shigaraki-yaki – Produced in Shiga . One of the oldest styles in Japan. Famous for Tanuki pottery pieces.

Souma-yaki – Produced in Fukushima . Image of a Horse (''uma'' or ''koma''), which is very popular in this area, is the main pattern. Therefore, it is sometimes called Soumakoma-Yaki.

Tamba-yaki – Produced in Hyogo . Also called Tatekui-yaki. One of the six oldest kinds in Japan.

Tokoname-yaki – Produced in Aichi . Most are Flower Vase s, Rice Bowl s, Teacup .

Tobe-yaki – Produced in Shikoku . Most are thick porcelain table ware with blue cobalt paintings.

Yokkaichi-Banko-yaki –Produced in Mie . Most are Teacup s, Teapot s, Flower Vase s, and Sake vessels. Believed to have originated in the 19th Century .

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Japanese Pottery