Ko-Kutani: The Lost 17th-Century Kutani Porcelain

Ko-Kutani refers to the earliest Kutani porcelain, made for only a few decades in the mid-17th century, early in the Edo period, in and around the Kaga domain (now Ishikawa Prefecture).

Its defining feature is the dense, bold overglaze painting known as aode and gosai. Using green, yellow, purple, deep blue and red lavishly, the pictorial compositions fill the whole surface without a gap, giving off a powerful, dynamic beauty in contrast to the stillness prized in tea ceramics.

Because production stopped abruptly some fifty years after it began, it is known as the most mysterious porcelain in Japanese ceramic history.

Why it disappeared

Accounts of why the Ko-Kutani kilns closed vary: financial difficulty in the Kaga domain, deference to the shogunate, problems of materials or of technicians. With no decisive record surviving, there is still no conclusion.

Recent excavation has raised a further possibility: that some pieces called Ko-Kutani style were fired not at Kutani but at Arita in Saga Prefecture. Examples have been found whose body clay and foot construction match those of Arita.

Imari, or Kutani? The debate is unsettled. That is exactly why Ko-Kutani continues to be spoken of as the most romantic porcelain in the history of the craft.

Clues for recognising Ko-Kutani

• No empty space　Almost the entire surface is filled with color. The thinking behind the composition is the exact opposite of Arita sometsuke, which uses the white of the porcelain.
• Green and yellow dominate　In aode Ko-Kutani especially, green and yellow cover the whole surface and almost no white shows.
• The enamel is thick　Glassy overglaze enamel is laid on thickly, so it turns translucent against the light and a fingertip feels the step.
• The composition is bold　Off-centre placement, patterns cut off at the rim. Ordered symmetry is not the aim.

Its relationship to revived Kutani

About a century after the Ko-Kutani kilns closed, Kutani was revived in the early 19th century. This is called saiko Kutani, and several styles emerged from it: Mokubei, Yoshidaya, Iidaya, Shoza.

Among them the Yoshidaya kiln is known for work strongly conscious of Ko-Kutani aode. In other words, the Kutani ware of today is a Ko-Kutani once lost, re-read and taken up again by a later age.

Related terms and guides

Related terms

• Gosai: The Five Colours of Kutani Overglaze Painting
• Uwa-etsuke: How Overglaze Enamel Painting Works
• Akae: The Red Overglaze Enamel of Kutani and Arita
• Sometsuke: Blue and White Porcelain, Explained
• Japanese Pottery Glossary | Terms, Techniques & Kilns

Read further

• Kutani Ware: Japan's Boldest Ceramic Painting
• Japanese Pottery Patterns: What the Motifs Actually Mean
• Arita Ware: Japan's First Porcelain, 400 Years On
• A Short History of Japanese Ceramics, Jomon to Now