Arita-yaki(Arita ware)

The history of the Japanese porcelain is the history of Arita ware. Until the late 16th century Arita kiln was merely making old type of pottery. At the campaign in Korea(1592-1598) attempted by Toyotomi shogunate the Korean potter Lee Cham Pyung was taken to Japan by the head of the local Nabeshima clan. Lee searched for kaolin clay neccesary for porcelain and found it on Mt.Izumi near Arita. Some pieces of porcelain were then successfully produced for the first time in Japan.

Arita followed Korean style for a while. But during the 17th century the potter Sakaida Kakiemon achieved the polychrome overglaze enamel technique called "akae" from studying Chinese ware. He changed the monotonous wares in blue and white until then to colorful wares on which red color was predominating. Around this time the Nabeshima clan came to have its own kiln and the potter Imaemon developed Iro-Nabeshima under the patronage of the clan. He also created his original coloring styles such as nishikide or somenishiki with the overglaze pigments of red, blue, yellow, green, purple, gold, etc..

As the term Imari is often refered when Arita ware is concerned, Imari was the port for shipping Arita ware to various parts of Japan. Arita porcelain made during the Edo period is especially called Ko Imari (Old Imari). It was exported to Europe by the trader from Holland and influenced European porcelain wares such as Maissen, Chantilly etc.. While Arita-yaki covers a vast range of ceramic today from decolative to practical the exclusive pieces labeled Imari still bear the features of Old Imari and are highly admired both at home and abroad.

Kutani-yaki(Kutani ware)

There have been two epochs for Kutani ware. In the mid 17th century the head of the local clan Toshiharu Maeda set up killns in the villages of Kutani to make porcelain there and sent his retainers to Arita to learn the techniques of porcelain making. They succeeded in creating so called Ko Kutani(Old Kutani) by luckly meeting a potter from China in Arita. But no evidence has been found so far in the remains of kilns in Kutani to prove they actually produced Old Kutani at their local kilns. Rather the white porcelain bases for Old Kutani were excavated in Arita, and therefore, it may be reasonable to think that Old Kutani was made in Arita or only picturing was done in Kutani.

For the unknown reason the kilns in Kutani abruptly declined in the late 17th century. They had been in no use for over a century until the new kilns were built around the mid 19th century. This re-establishment was refered to as Saiko Kutani(New Kutani). Kutani ware features the five-color palette of red, green, yellow, purple and Prussian blue. During the transition period from the Edo to Meiji era it was widened with the medial tones by the adoption of imported European glazes and made Kutani ware extensively colorful.

Further more gold color was added to the color scheme and Kutani developed luxurious coloring style called saishiki-kinran(coloring on gold brocade). Eventually, with its gorgeous atmosphere, Kutani ware started getting fanatic welcome both at home and overseas during the Meiji period. The tradition is well succeeded to the current Kutani to keep its originality but modern innovations are being attempted as well.

Shigaraki-yaki(Shigaraki ware)

The name Shigarki came from the "Shigaraki no Miya", a detached palace that Emperor Shomu wanted to build in this place in 742. The history of Shigaraki-yaki dawned by making tiles and vessels called Sueki for the palace. Sueki is the general term for the refined earthenware that began to be made from the late 5th century under the guidance of the invited Korean potters. Shigaraki is surrounded by mountains and red pine is the native plant there. Red pine contains resin good enough for fueling kilns and it was a luck for pottery making at Shigaraki. And also the local clay is one of the best as it is fine and hard with small pebbles of feldspar and less iron.

Shigaraki was originally making jars or containers in need for the farmers. But during the Muromati period(1333-1568) the tea ceremony that was originally practiced by the Zen-Buddhist monks became the preference among the ordinary citizens. Its famous devotee Sen no Rikyu was attracted by the utilitarian and naturally texturized Shigaraki ware and eventually employed it to the tea ceremony. From this happening Shigaraki achieved a good production of the tea wares for a while. However it declined after the death of Sen no Rikyu and started making wares for daily use like jars, containers, pots, sake cups, etc. again.

Shigaraki ware is admired for the unexpected finish performed by the Nature. Small pebbles of feldspar come out to the furface when fired and create inartificial rugged touch. Ash from the wood fuel fuses with clay and turning green or brown gives the random ash-glaze effect to the pieces.

Mino-yaki(Mino ware)

Mino-yaki started in the mid Heian era(794-1185) and the document written in that period says that Mino-no-Kuni(present-day Gifu prefecture) was one of the provinces that supplied the Court with ware. During the Momoyama period(1568-1600) the wares insisting on the Japan original came to be praized rather than the imported pieces. The trend together with the fashion of the tea ceremony brought about a great deal of Mino ware. Many potters migrated to Mino and it became the center of the Japanese ceramics at the time. The characteristic Mino pieces are divided into four groups. They are Shino, Ki-Seto, Setoguro and Oribe.

Shino ware features yuzu-hada(orange skin touch). Thick feldspar glazing makes up lustrous milky white surface being patched with spots. Through the spots and thin parts of the glaze salmon pink ground can be observed. Ki-seto features its yellowish color and etched motifs. Yellowish color is obtained by the oxidation of the ferrous components in clay and wood-ash glaze at high temperature baking. Copper rust is applied to make green parts. When the pieces are suddenly pulled out of the kiln while being fired at high temperature their color turns black. This discovery resulted in making Setoguro(black Seto ware). In addition to coil building and wheel throw Mino potters employed slab building and mold casting. The angular shapes and irregular forms of Oribe ware are attributed to those techniques.

Hagi-yaki(Hagi ware)

Like the case in Arita ware two Korean potters were brought to Japan by another war lord at the campaign in Korea (1592-1598). The head of the Hagi clan Terumoto Mohri took two Korean brothers Lee Chak Kwang and Lee Kyung to his domain to start Hagi ware. Ceramics was one of the most beneficial industries at the time and those incidents might have been inevitable.

Hagi ware began by imitating Korean ware first rather than creating the original pieces. In the search for a good clay the potters from Korea encountered a unique clay called "daido-tuchi". It is made of weathered granite and brought about a significant originality of Hagi ware. Daido-tuchi is so delicate that it is liable to undergo subtle changes in color and texture while being baked. And because of its poor fire resistance it is fired at the lower temperature. Therefore the finish is not tightly fastened and tea is absorved through the small cracks on the glaze. It causes color changes of the teacup the more it is used. Hagi ware is highly praised because of this unique nature.

The immaculate pieces of Hagi ware, however, were for the upper class because daido-tuchi was not easily available due to the difficult transportation for the mountain pass from kilns in Hagi. For the commoners another local clay was used for the ground and daido-tuchi was applied as an engobe. This technique was also introduced from Korea and termed ko-hiki. But it brought about an unexpected good effect to Hagi ware; the combination with another clay gave variation in taste. In addition potters learned a variaty of scenes obtained through the combination of clay, glaze, and fire temperature. It is the way for the Hagi potters to make their ware distinctive and they rarely decolate their pieces with painted motifs. This is another feature of Hagi ware.

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