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Pottery and porcelain (陶磁器,tōjiki; alsoyakimono (焼きもの), ortōgei (陶芸)) is one of the oldestJapanese crafts andart forms, dating back to theNeolithic period.[1] Types have includedearthenware,pottery,stoneware,porcelain, andblue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionally long and successful history of ceramic production. Earthenwares were made as early as theJōmon period (10,500–300 BC), giving Japan one of the oldest ceramic traditions in the world. Japan is further distinguished by the unusual esteem that ceramics hold within its artistic tradition, owing to the enduring popularity of thetea ceremony. During the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573–1603), kilns throughout Japan produced ceramics with unconventional designs[2]. In the early Edo period, the production of porcelain commenced in the Hizen-Arita region of Kyushu, employing techniques imported from Korea. These porcelain works became known asImari wares, named after the port of Imari from which they were exported to various markets, including Europe.
Japanese ceramic history records the names of numerous distinguished ceramists, and some were artist-potters, e.g.Hon'ami Kōetsu,Ninsei,Ogata Kenzan, and Aoki Mokubei.[3] Japaneseanagama kilns also have flourished through the ages, and their influence weighs with that of the potters. Another important Japanese constituent of the art is the continuing popularity of unglazed high-fired stoneware even after porcelain became popular.[3] Since the 4th century AD, Japanese ceramics have often been influenced by the artistic sensibilities of neighbouring East Asian civilizations such asChinese andKorean-style pottery. Japanese ceramists and potters took inspiration from their East Asian artistic counterparts by transforming and translating the Chinese and Korean prototypes into a uniquely Japanese creation, with the resultant form being distinctly Japanese in character. Since the mid-17th century when Japan started to industrialize,[4] high-quality standard wares produced in factories became popular exports to Europe. In the 20th century, a homegrown cottage ceramics industry began to take root and emerge. Major Japanese ceramic companies includeNoritake andToto Ltd.
Japanese pottery is distinguished by two polarized aesthetic traditions. On the one hand, there is a tradition of very simple and roughly finished pottery, mostly inearthenware and using a muted palette of earth colours. This relates toZen Buddhism and many of the greatest masters were priests, especially in early periods. Many pieces are also related to theJapanese tea ceremony and embody the aesthetic principles ofwabi-sabi. Mostraku ware, where the final decoration is partly random, is in this tradition.[5] The other tradition is of highly finished and brightly coloured factory wares, mostly in porcelain, with complex and balanced decoration, which developsChinese porcelain styles in a distinct way.[6] A third tradition, of simple but perfectly formed and glazedstonewares, also relates more closely to both Chinese and Korean traditions. In the 16th century, a number of styles of traditional utilitarian rustic wares then in production became admired for their simplicity, and their forms have often been kept in production to the present day for a collectors market.[7]
The types of ceramics can be divided into five groups:
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Some of the typical vessel (器utsuwa) types are:
The various features of a vessel such as the opening, rim, neck, wall, inside, foot, surface markings, etc. all have standardised names in Japanese.
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In the Neolithic period (c. 11th millennium BC), the earliest soft earthenware was made.
During the earlyJōmon period in the 6th millennium BC typicalcoil-made ware appeared, decorated with hand-impressed rope patterns.Jōmon pottery developed a flamboyant style at its height and was simplified in the later Jōmon period. The pottery was formed by coiling clay ropes and fired in an open fire.
In about the 4th–3rd centuries BCYayoi period,Yayoi pottery appeared which was another style of earthenware characterised by a simple pattern or no pattern. Jōmon, Yayoi, and later Haji ware shared the firing process but had different styles of design.
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In the 3rd to 4th centuries AD, theanagama kiln, a roofed-tunnel kiln on a hillside, and thepotter's wheel appeared, brought to Kyushu island from the Korean peninsula.[9]
The anagama kiln could produce stoneware,Sue pottery, fired at high temperatures of over 1,200–1,300 °C (2,190–2,370 °F), sometimes embellished with accidents produced when introducing plant material to the kiln during the reduced-oxygen phase of firing. Its manufacture began in the 5th century and continued in outlying areas until the 14th century. Although several regional variations have been identified, Sue was remarkably homogeneous throughout Japan. The function of Sue pottery, however, changed over time: during theKofun period (AD 300–710) it was primarily funerary ware; during theNara period (710–94) and theHeian period (794–1185), it became an elite tableware; and finally it was used as a utilitarian ware and for the ritual vessels for Buddhist altars.
ContemporaryHaji ware andhaniwa funerary objects were earthenware like Yayoi.
Although a three-color lead glaze technique was introduced to Japan from theTang dynasty of China in the 8th century, official kilns produced only simple green lead glaze for temples in theHeian period, around 800–1200.
Kamui ware appeared in this time, as well asAtsumi ware andTokoname ware.
Until the 17th century, unglazed stoneware was popular for the heavy-duty daily requirements of a largely agrarian society; funerary jars, storage jars, and a variety of kitchen pots typify the bulk of the production. Some of the kilns improved their technology and are called the "Six Old Kilns": Shigaraki (Shigaraki ware), Tamba, Bizen, Tokoname, Echizen, and Seto.[10][11]
Among these, the Seto kiln inOwari Province (present dayAichi Prefecture) had a glaze technique. According to legend, Katō Shirozaemon Kagemasa (also known as Tōshirō) studied ceramic techniques in China and brought high-fired glazed ceramic to Seto in 1223. The Seto kiln primarily imitated Chinese ceramics as a substitute for the Chinese product. It developed various glazes: ash brown, iron black, feldspar white, and copper green. The wares were so widely used thatSeto-mono (漢字・かな, 'product of Seto') became the generic term for ceramics in Japan. Seto kiln also produced unglazed stoneware. In the late 16th century, many Seto potters fleeing the civil wars moved toMino Province in the Gifu Prefecture, where they produced glazed pottery: Yellow Seto (Ki-Seto), Shino, Black Seto (Seto-Guro), andOribe ware.
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According to chronicles in 1406, theYongle Emperor (1360–1424) of the Ming dynasty bestowed tenJian ware bowls from the Song dynasty to theshōgunAshikaga Yoshimitsu (1358–1408), who ruled during theMuromachi period. A number of Japanese monks who traveled to monasteries in China also brought pieces back home.[12] As they became valued for tea ceremonies, more pieces were imported from China where they became highly prized goods. Five of these vessels from the southern Song dynasty are so highly valued that they were included by the government in thelist of National Treasures of Japan (crafts: others). Jian ware was later produced and further developed astenmoku and was highly prized during tea ceremonies of this time.
From the middle of the 11th century to the 16th century, Japan imported much Chineseceladon greenware, white porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan also imported Chinese pottery as well as Korean and Vietnamese ceramics. SuchChinese ceramics (tenmoku) were regarded as sophisticated items, which the upper classes used in the tea ceremony. The Japanese also ordered custom-designed ceramics from Chinese kilns.
Highly priced imports also came from theLuzon and was calledRusun-yaki or "Luzon ware", as well asAnnan fromAnnam, northern Vietnam.[13]
With the rise of Buddhism in the late 16th century, leading tea masters introduced a change of style and favored humble Korean tea bowls and domestic ware over sophisticated Chinese porcelain. The influential tea masterSen no Rikyū (1522–1591) turned to native Japanese styles of simple rustic pottery, often imperfect, which he admired for their "rugged spontaneity", a "decisive shift" of enormous importance for the development of Japanese pottery.[14] TheRaku family (named after the pottery rather than the other way round) supplied brown-glazed earthenware tea bowls. Mino, Bizen, Shigaraki (Shigaraki ware), Iga (similar to Shigaraki), and other domestic kilns also supplied tea utensils. The artist-potterHon'ami Kōetsu made several tea bowls now considered masterpieces.
DuringToyotomi Hideyoshi's1592 invasion of Korea, Japanese forces brought Korean potters as slaves to Japan, According to tradition, one of the kidnapped,Yi Sam-pyeong, discovered a source of porcelain clay near Arita and was able to produce the first Japanese porcelain. These potters also brought improved kiln technology in thenoborigama or rising kiln, running up a hillside and enabling temperatures of 1,400 °C (2,550 °F) to be reached.[15] Soon the Satsuma, Hagi, Karatsu, Takatori, Agano and Arita kilns were begun.
In the 1640s, rebellions in China and wars between the Ming dynasty and the Manchus damaged many kilns, and in 1656–1684 the newQing dynasty government stopped trade by closing its ports. Chinese potter refugees were able to introduce refined porcelain techniques and enamel glazes to the Arita kilns. From 1658, the Dutch East India Company looked to Japan for blue-and-white porcelain to sell in Europe (seeImari porcelain). At that time, the Arita kilns like theKakiemon kiln could not yet supply enough quality porcelain to the Dutch East India Company, but they quickly expanded their capacity. From 1659 to 1740, the Arita kilns were able to export enormous quantities of porcelain to Europe and Asia. Gradually the Chinese kilns recovered, and developed their own styles of the highly coloured enamelled wares that Europeans found so attractive, includingfamille rose,famille verte and the rest of that group. From about 1720 Chinese and European kilns also began to imitate the Imari enamelled style at the lower end of the market, and by about 1740 the first period ofJapanese export porcelain had all but ceased.[16] The Arita kilns also supplied domestic utensils such as the so-called Ko-Kutani enamelware.[17]
Porcelain was also exported to China, much of which was resold by Chinese merchants to the other European "East Indies Companies" which were not allowed to trade in Japan itself. It has been suggested that the choice of such items was mainly dictated by Chinese taste, which preferred Kakiemon to "Imari" wares, accounting for a conspicuous disparity in early European collections that can be reconstructed between Dutch ones and those of other countries, such as England, France and Germany.[18] BecauseImari was the shipping port, some porcelain, for both export and domestic use, was calledKo-Imari (old Imari). The European custom has generally been to call blue and white wares "Arita" and blue, red and gold ones "Imari", though in fact both were often made in the same kilns arong Arita. In 1759 the dark red enamel pigment known asbengara became industrially available, leading to a reddish revival of the orange 1720Ko-Imari style.
In 1675, the localNabeshima family who ruled Arita established a personal kiln to make top-quality enamelware porcelain for the upper classes in Japan, which is calledNabeshima ware. This uses mainly decoration in traditional Japanese styles, often drawing from textiles, rather than the Chinese-derived styles of most Arita ware.[19]Hirado ware was another kind of porcelain initially reserved for presentation as political gifts among the elite, concentrating on very fine painting in blue on an unusually fine white body, for which scroll painters were hired. These two types represented the finest porcelain produced after the export trade stalled by the 1740s. Unlike Nabeshima ware, Hirado went on to be a significant exporter in the 19th century.
During the 17th century, in Kyoto, then Japan's imperial capital, kilns produced only clear lead-glazed pottery that resembled the pottery of southern China. Among them, potter Nonomura Ninsei invented an opaque overglaze enamel and with temple patronage was able to refine many Japanese-style designs. His discipleOgata Kenzan invented an idiosyncratic arts-and-crafts style and tookKyōyaki (Kyoto ceramics) to new heights. Their works were the models for laterKyōyaki. Although porcelain bodies were introduced toKyōyaki byOkuda Eisen, overglazed pottery still flourished. Aoki Mokubei, Ninami Dōhachi (both disciples of Okuda Eisen) and Eiraku Hozen expanded the repertory ofKyōyaki.
In the late 18th to early 19th century, white porcelain clay was discovered in other areas of Japan and was traded domestically, and potters were allowed to move more freely. Local lords and merchants established many new kilns (e.g., Kameyama kiln andTobe kiln) for economic profit, and old kilns such as Seto restarted as porcelain kilns. These many kilns are called "New Kilns" and they popularized porcelain in the style of the Arita kilns among the common folk.
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During the international openness of the Meiji period, Japanese arts and crafts had a new audience and set of influences. Traditional patrons such as thedaimyō class broke away and many of the artisans lost their source of income. The government took an active interest in the art export market, promoting Japanese arts at a succession ofworld's fairs, beginning with the1873 Vienna World's Fair.[20][21] The Imperial Household also took an active interest in arts and crafts, appointingImperial Household Artists and commissioning works ("presentation wares") as gifts for foreign dignitaries.[22] Most of the works promoted internationally were in the decorative arts, including pottery.
Satsuma ware was a name originally given to pottery fromSatsuma province, elaborately decorated withoverglaze enamels andgilding. These wares were highly praised in the West. Seen in the West as distinctively Japanese, this style actually owed a lot to imported pigments and Western influences, and had been created with export in mind.[23] Workshops in many cities raced to produce this style to satisfy demand from Europe and America, often producing quickly and cheaply. So the term "Satsuma ware" came to be associated not with a place of origin but with lower-quality ware created purely for export.[24] Despite this, there were artists such asYabu Meizan andMakuzu Kōzan who maintained the highest artistic standards while also successfully exporting. These artists won multiple awards at international exhibitions.[25] Meizan used copper plates to create detailed designs and repeatedly transfer them to the pottery, sometimes decorating a single object with a thousand motifs.[26]
Japan's porcelain industry was well-established at the start of the Meiji period, but the mass-produced wares were not known for their elegance.[27] During this era, technical and artistic innovations turned porcelain into one of the most internationally successful Japanese decorative art forms.[27] A lot of this is due toMakuzu Kōzan, known for Satsuma ware, who from the 1880s onwards introduced new technical sophistication to the decoration of porcelain, while committed to preserving traditional artistic values.[28] During the 1890s he developed a style of decoration that combined multiple underglaze colours on each item.[29] The technical sophistication of his underglazes increased during this decade as he continued to experiment.[30] In the decade from 1900 to 1910 there was a substantial change in the shape and decoration of his works, reflecting Western influences.[28] His work strongly influenced Western perceptions of Japanese design.[31]
Japanese pottery strongly influenced Britishstudio potterBernard Leach (1887–1979), who is regarded as the "Father of British studio pottery".[32] He lived in Japan from 1909 to 1920 during theTaishō period and became the leading western interpreter of Japanese pottery and in turn influenced a number of artists abroad.[33]
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During the earlyShōwa period, thefolk art movementmingei (民芸) developed, starting in the late 1920s and 1930s. Its founding father wasYanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961). Yanagi was deeply moved by the quiet beauty of utilitarian wares made by common people—particularly simple, unpretentious pots and tools from the Edo and Meiji periods—that were rapidly vanishing in Japan’s increasingly urban and mechanized society. He rescued lowly pots used by commoners in the Edo and Meiji period that were disappearing in rapidly urbanizing Japan.Shōji Hamada (1894–1978) was a potter who was a major figure of themingei movement, establishing the town ofMashiko as a renowned centre forMashiko ware. Another influential potter in this movement wasKawai Kanjirō (1890–1966) andTatsuzō Shimaoka (1919–2007). Shimaoka became renowned for his innovativejōmon zogan (rope-impressed inlay) technique, which fused modern creativity with ancient aesthetics, earning him the status ofLiving National Treasure in 1996. These artists studied traditional glazing techniques to preserve native wares in danger of disappearing, blending folk traditions with a personal spiritual sensibility, believing that beauty should be found in the act of making, not just in the final form. Both men embraced Yanagi’s vision, not merely as craftspeople but as artist-philosophers committed to preserving Japan’s cultural heritage. A central goal of these artists was to study, preserve, and revive traditional glazing and firing techniques, many of which were in danger of disappearing as Japan modernized. Their efforts were not simply nostalgic but rooted in a belief that handcrafted, everyday objects carried a deep connection to place, purpose, and human touch.
However, one of the most critical and challenging periods for themingei movement came during thePacific War (1941–1945). With the nation's resources redirected toward the war effort, artisanal production was severely curtailed. Materials such as clay, fuel, and glazes became scarce, and artistic practice gave way to utilitarian demands. Pottery workshops were shuttered or repurposed, and the market for handmade wares all but collapsed. Yet, despite these obstacles, the ideals ofmingeiendured. In the post-war years, the movement experienced a resurgence, thanks in large part to the unwavering commitment of its key figures and the international recognition they began to receive.
A number of institutions came under the aegis of the Cultural Properties Protection Division[34].
The kilns atTamba, overlookingKobe, continued to produce the daily wares used in theTokugawa 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 Kyūshū, kilns set up by Korean potters in the 16th century, such as atKoishiwara, Fukuoka and its offshoot atOnta ware, perpetuated 16th-century Korean peasant wares. InOkinawa, the production of village ware continued under several leading masters, withJiro Kinjo honored as aningen kokuho (人間国宝,lit. 'living cultural treasures', officially a Preserver of Important Intangible Cultural Properties).
The modern potters operate inShiga,Iga,Karatsu,Hagi, andBizen. Yamamoto Masao (Toushuu)[35] of Bizen and Miwa Kyusetsu[36] of Hagi were designatedningen kokuho. Only a half-dozen potters had been so honored by 1989, either as representatives of famous kiln wares or as creators of superlative techniques inglazing or decoration; two groups were designated for preserving the wares of distinguished ancient kilns.
In the old capital ofKyoto, theRaku family continued to produce the roughtea bowls that had so delighted Hideyoshi. AtMino, potters continued to reconstruct the classic formulas ofMomoyama period Seto-type tea wares of Mino, such as theOribe ware copper-green glaze and Shino ware's prized milky glaze. Artist potters experimented at the Kyoto and Tokyo arts universities to recreate traditional porcelain and its decorations under such ceramic teachers asFujimoto Yoshimichi, aningen kokuho. Ancient porcelain kilns aroundArita inKyūshū were still maintained by the lineage ofSakaida Kakiemon XIV andImaizumi Imaemon XIII, hereditary porcelain makers to theNabeshima clan; both were heads of groups designatedmukei bunkazai (無形文化財; seeKakiemon andImari porcelain).
British artistLucie Rie (1902–1995) was influenced by Japanese pottery and Bernard Leach, and was also appreciated in Japan with a number of exhibitions. British artistEdmund de Waal (b. 1964) studied Leach and spent a number of years in Japan studyingmingei style.[33]Thomas Bezanson from Canada was influenced by it.[37]
In contrast, by the end of the 1980s, many studio potters no longer worked at major or ancient kilns but were making classic wares in various parts of Japan. In Tokyo, a notable example isTsuji Seimei, who brought his clay fromShiga but potted in the Tokyo area. A number of artists were engaged in reconstructing Chinese styles of decoration or glazes, especially the blue-greenceladon and the watery-greenqingbai. One of the most beloved Chinese glazes in Japan is the chocolate-browntenmoku glaze that covered the peasant tea bowls brought back from southernSong China (in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries) byZen monks. For their Japanese users, these chocolate-brown wares embodied the Zen aesthetic ofwabi (rustic simplicity). In the United States, an example of the use oftenmoku glazes are pots thrown by Japanese-born artistHideaki Miyamura.
Raw materials are chosen largely based on local availability. There is an abundance of many basic in Japan. Due to naturally occurringkaolin deposits, many clays are found in Kyushu. Kilns were traditionally built at the sites of clay deposits, and most studio potters still use local clays, having developed a range of glazes and decoration techniques especially suited to that clay. Raw materials found in the Japanese archipelago range from those suitable for earthenwares to more refractory kaolins. From the Jōmon period to the Yayoi period, Japanese potters relied on high plastic iron-bearing shale and alluvial clays. Organic materials appear in much of the early Jōmon period work, but sand or crushed stone predominates thereafter.[citation needed]
Further refinements came about under theChinese influence in the 8th and 9th centuries AD, when creators of Nara three-color wares and Heian ash glazed wares sought out white, refractory clays and enhanced their fineness through levigation.[citation needed]
The earliest pieces were made by pressing the clay into shape. This method continued to be employed after the invention of the wheel, such as when producingRengetsu ware. Coiled methods developed in the Jōmon period. Production by kneading and cutting slabs developed later, for example, forhaniwa clay figures.
At Koishibara, Onda, and Tamba, large bowls and jars are first roughly coil-built on the wheel, then shaped by throwing, in what is known as the "coil and throw technique". The preliminary steps are the same as for coil building, after which the rough form is lubricated with slip and shaped between the potter's hands as the wheel revolves. The process dates back 360 years to a Korean technique brought to Japan following Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea.
Generally fashioned out of fast-growing bamboo or wood, these tools for shaping pottery have a natural feel that is highly appealing. While most are Japanese versions of familiar tools in the West, some are unique Japanese inventions.
Hundreds of different wares and styles have existed throughout its history. The most historic and well-known ones have received recognition from the government. For more information see thelist of Japanese ceramics sites.
| Name | Kanji | Traditional Sites | Notes | Example image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Agano ware | 上野焼 | Fukuchi, Tagawa District, Fukuoka | _LACMA_M.2008.264.1a-b.jpg) | |
| Aizuhongō ware | 会津本郷焼 | _LACMA_M.2008.264.2.jpg) | ||
| Akahada ware | 赤膚焼 |  | ||
| Akazu ware | 赤津焼 | |||
| Amakusa pottery | 天草陶磁器 | Amakusa, Kumamoto | ||
| Arita ware | 有田焼 | Arita, Saga | The main source of Japanese export porcelain from the mid 17th-century onwards. Production began byKorean potters at the beginning of theEdo period. A multitude of kilns produced a variety of styles, includingImari ware andNabeshima ware, and most early pieces in theKakiemon style of decoration. | _with_Domestic_Scenes_-_Walters_49475_-_Three_Quarter_View_B.jpg) |
| Asahi ware | 朝日焼 |  | ||
| Banko ware | 萬古焼 | Mie Prefecture | Most areteacups,teapots,flower vases, andsake vessels. Believed to have originated in the 19th century. |  |
| Bizen ware | 備前焼 | Bizen Province | Also called Inbe ware. A reddish-brown long-fired stoneware, which is believed to have originated in the 6th century. One of the first medieval utilitarian wares to be taken up for use in the tea ceremony, and promoted to the status of art pottery.[38] | %2c_Bizen_ware%2c_Edo_period%2c_17th_century_-_Tokyo_National_Museum_-_DSC05874.JPG) |
| Echizen ware | 越前焼 | _LACMA_M.2008.264.5.jpg) | ||
| Hagi ware | 萩焼 | Hagi, Yamaguchi | Since it is burned at a relatively low temperature, it is fragile and transmits the warmth of its contents quickly. |  |
| Hasami ware | 波佐見焼 | |||
| Iga ware | 伊賀焼 |  | ||
| Iwami ware | 石見焼 | |||
| Izushi ware | 出石焼 | |||
| Karatsu ware | 唐津焼 | Karatsu, Saga | The most produced pottery in western Japan. Believed to have started in the 16th century. |  |
| Kasama ware | 笠間焼 | |||
| Kirigome ware | 切込焼 | Miyazaki, Miyagi | .jpg) | |
| Kiyomizu ware | 清水焼 | Kiyomizu, Kyoto | A subcategory ofKyō ware | _with_Paulownia_and_Geometric_Design_MET_2015_300_267ab_Burke_website.jpg) |
| Koishiwara ware | 小石原焼 | Fukuoka Prefecture | Most areteacups,teapots,flower vases, andsake vessels, and as a result of the folk art movement, practical items for everyday household use. Originated by a Korean potter in the 16th century. | |
| Kosobe ware | 古曽部焼 | |||
| Kutani ware | 九谷焼 | Ishikawa Prefecture |  | |
| Kyō ware | 京焼 | Kyoto |  | |
| Mashiko ware | 益子焼 |  | ||
| Mikawachi ware | 三川内焼 |  | ||
| Mino ware | 美濃焼 | Mino Province | IncludesShino ware,Oribe ware,Setoguro ware, andKi-Seto ware. |  |
| Mumyōi ware | 無名異焼 | |||
| Ōborisōma ware | 大堀相馬焼 | Fukushima Prefecture | Image of ahorse (uma orkoma), which is very popular in this area, is the main pattern. Therefore, it is sometimes called Sōmakoma ware. | .jpg) |
| Onta ware | 小鹿田焼 | Onta, Ōita | Traditionalist ware produced by a small village community without electricity. Mostly simply but elegantly decorated slipware, in a style going back to the 18th century. | _LACMA_M.2008.264.24.jpg) |
| Ōtani ware | 大谷焼 | Naruto, Tokushima | A large type of pottery | |
| Raku ware | 楽焼 | A technique and style practised all over Japan, and now the world. Typically, vessels are hand-thrown without using a wheel, giving a simple and rather rough shape, and fired at low temperatures before being cooled in the open air. In modern periods combustible material is generally placed in the kiln, reacting unpredictably with the glaze pigments. There is a proverb of the hierarchy of ceramic styles used for tea ceremony: 'First Raku, second Hagi, third Karatsu.' |  | |
| Satsuma ware | 薩摩焼 | Satsuma Province | Earthenware, originally a local industry of plain vessels started by Korean potters about 1600. From the 19th century a term for a style of highly decorated ware produced in many areas, purely for export to the West. |  |
| Seto ware | 瀬戸焼 | Seto, Aichi | The most produced Japanese pottery in Japan. Sometimes, the termSeto-yaki (orSeto-mono) stands for all Japanese pottery. IncludesOfukei ware. |  |
| Shigaraki ware | 信楽焼 | Shiga Prefecture | One of the oldest styles in Japan. Famous fortanuki pottery pieces. |  |
| Shitoro ware | 志戸呂焼 | |||
| Shōdai ware | 小代焼 | Arao, Kumamoto | _LACMA_M.2007.226.16.jpg) | |
| Takatori ware | 高取焼 | |||
| Tamba ware | 丹波立杭焼 | Hyōgo Prefecture | Also called Tatekui ware. One of the six oldest kinds in Japan. | .jpg) |
| Tobe ware | 砥部焼 | Ehime Prefecture | Most are thick porcelain table ware with blue cobalt paintings. | .jpg) |
| Tokoname ware | 常滑焼 | Tokoname, Aichi | Most areflower vases,rice bowls, or teacups. |  |
| Tsuboya ware | 壺屋焼 | Tsuboya,Naha | A form ofRyukyuan pottery. Most are thick porcelain table ware with blue cobalt paintings. |  |
| Zeze ware | 膳所焼 | Ōtsu, former Zeze domain | Most are thick porcelain table ware with blue cobalt paintings. |
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A number of museums in Japan are dedicated entirely only to ceramics. Amongst the most well-known ones are theAichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum close toNagoya, theArita Porcelain Park, theFukuoka Oriental Ceramics Museum, theKyushu Ceramic Museum, theNoritake Garden, theMuseum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka, theOkayama Prefectural Bizen Ceramics Museum, and theŌtsuka Museum of Art. Public museums such as theKyushu National Museum,Kyoto National Museum,Nara National Museum,Tokyo National Museum andIshikawa Prefectural Museum of Art have important ceramic collections. A number of private museums also have important items such as theMOA Museum of Art,Mitsui Memorial Museum,Seikadō Bunko Art Museum,Fujita Art Museum andKubosō Memorial Museum of Arts, Izumi. A number of important ceramic items are also owned and kept in various temples in Japan such as theRyūkō-in,Kohō-an andShōkoku-ji, however the items are not exhibited publicly.
Mostceramic museums around the world have collections of Japanese pottery, many very extensive. Japanese modern ceramic works are often very sought-after and expensive. Apart from traditional styles art andstudio pottery incontemporary art styles are made for the international market.
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