About Japanese pottery and porcelain regions

Tozando, a specialty tea ware store, sells tea ware that utilizes the traditional techniques and raw materials of Japan's pottery production areas. Knowing the characteristics of each production area makes it easier to choose tea ware.

Bizen ware

Location: Inbe City, Okayama Prefecture

Type: Pottery

Clay: Coarse

Glaze: No glaze

Firing: Mainly wood-fired kiln

Characteristics:

The characteristics of Bizen ware are the taste of the clay and the beautiful patterns created by the flame. Bizen ware begins with preparing the clay. The ceramic artist himself goes to the mountains or rice fields to dig up the clay, leaves it for several months, exposes it to water, mixes it, and does everything by hand. In Bizen ware, clay preparation is so important that it is said to take up the majority of the work.

Bizen ware is mainly fired in a wood-fired kiln. It is impossible to predict how the flame will move in the kiln, and the natural movement of the flame affects the pattern of the work. Each piece of pottery created by nature, earth and flame, is unique. The texture and pattern are different with each firing, so the same piece cannot be made twice.

Bizen ware is closely connected to the tea ceremony, and is a region where tea pottery is thriving. Bizen clay has coarse particles, so high molding skills and delicate sensibilities are required to create tea utensils with complex shapes like teapots.

Tokoname ware

Location: Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture

Type: Pottery

Clay: Fine

Glaze: Mostly unglazed. Some glazed

Firing: Electric kiln

Characteristics:

Tokoname ware is characterized by its ease of use and original design using various techniques. Tokoname is the largest teapot production area in Japan. Red clay tea utensils began to be made in Tokoname at the end of the Edo period (around 1858 AD). This is an area with many potters and small kilns that specialize in teapots.

The Tokoname region has fine clay particles such as red clay and black clay that are suitable for teapots. Tokoname has specialized techniques for making teapots, such as high-level molding techniques and a technique called "rubbing" that fits the lid and body of the teapot together without any gaps. These teapots are made with precision, so water does not easily leak from the spout or between the body and lid. Traditional techniques such as mokake and hisasuki are used to create original tea utensils.

Kyoware

Location: Kyoto City, Kyoto Prefecture

Type: Pottery, porcelain

Clay: Both coarse and fine

Glaze: Glazed

Firing: Various, including wood-fired and electric kilns

Characteristics:

Kyoware is pottery made based on a refined sense of aesthetics. With the elegant culture of Kyoto as a backdrop, Kyo ware developed with the patronage of temples, shrines, nobles, and merchants. Since the Edo period (around 1800 AD), many tea utensils for matcha and sencha were made in Kyoto against the backdrop of the popularity of the tea ceremony.

Pottery raw materials such as clay are not produced in Kyoto, and raw materials from various production areas such as Shigaraki and Iga are used. Since there is no need to use fixed raw materials, Kyoware includes both pottery and porcelain, and has a variety of styles such as celadon, white porcelain, blue and white, and gold paint. Kyoware has always incorporated new elements, such as being influenced by Chinese ceramics, and is a highly artistic and urbane pottery.

Nabeshima ware

Location: Imari City, Saga Prefecture

Type: Porcelain

Clay: Fine

Glaze: Glazed

Firing: Gas kiln or electric kiln

Characteristics:

Nabeshima ware is characterized by its beautiful hand-painted patterns. Nabeshima ware is the first colored porcelain produced in Japan. During the Edo period (1603-1867 AD), it was owned only by the Tokugawa Shogunate and feudal lords, and is said to be the pinnacle of Japanese porcelain. Nabeshima ware painting is limited to four colors: blue for underglaze and red, green, and yellow for overglaze. Japanese porcelain was initially influenced by China and Korea, but Nabeshima ware gradually broke away from those influences and many original patterns were created.

There are many Nabeshima ware plates and bowls, but very few tea utensils are produced. Tozando cooperates with Nabeshima Kosengama kiln to create teapots for Chinese and Taiwanese tea. Traditional craftsmen paint the patterns by hand with a brush. Tea utensils that combine traditional Japanese porcelain and Chinese tea culture.

Shigaraki ware

Location: Shigaraki-cho, Koka-shi, Shiga Prefecture

Type: Pottery

Clay: Coarse

Glaze: No glaze

Firing: Mainly wood-fired kiln

Characteristics:

Shigaraki ware is characterized by its natural clay and texture, and the rich expression achieved by firing in a wood-fired kiln. Shigaraki was located at the bottom of a lake in ancient times and is blessed with high-quality clay. There are coarse-grained clay and fine-grained clay, and the tea utensils sold at Tozando are made from fine-grained clay.

In the late 15th century, Japanese pottery began to be used as tea utensils in the tea ceremony. Shigaraki ware, along with Bizen ware, was the earliest pottery used as tea utensils. From the 17th century onwards, tea jars to hold tea leaves presented to the shogun and feudal lord families were also produced in Shigaraki.

Shigaraki ware is deeply connected to tea and is pottery loved by many tea masters. Being close to Kyoto and Osaka, where tea ceremony was popular, many tea utensils such as matcha bowls and Houhin were produced. These are traditional tea utensils that are shaped on a potter's wheel by skilled craftsmen and fired in a wood-fired kiln.

Akazu ware

Location: Seto City, Aichi Prefecture

Type: Pottery

Clay: Fine

Glaze: Glazed

Firing: Electric kiln or gas kiln

Characteristics:

Akazu ware is characterized by its unique glazes. Although it is a small area in the mountains, it is a production area that produces a variety of pottery. The seven traditional glazes for Akazu ware are ash glaze, iron glaze, koseto, kiseto, shino, ofuke, and oribe. These seven types cover the main glazes used in Japanese pottery.

The Seto region of Aichi Prefecture is ideal for making pottery because of its high-quality white clay. Since the Edo period (1603-1867), the Akazu area has mainly produced tea utensils. Even today, there are many pottery artists and small kilns, and traditional pottery production is thriving.