Medome: How to Seal Unglazed Pottery Before First Use
Medome is the preparation carried out before an absorbent piece is first used.
Yakishime, donabe pots and pieces with crazing take up water readily, so they are simmered gently in rice-rinsing water or a thin rice porridge and left to cool in it. The starch fills the fine pores in the clay and prevents leaking, staining and odour transfer.
A little effort keeps a piece beautiful for years: it is the important first step for pottery in daily use.
How to do medome
- 1. Prepare the pan Put the piece in a pan with enough rice-rinsing water — or water with flour or potato starch dissolved in it — to submerge it completely.
- 2. Simmer Bring to a boil over low heat and simmer gently for 10–20 minutes.
- 3. Cool Turn off the heat and leave the piece in the pan until completely cool. Taking it out suddenly can crack it through the temperature difference.
- 4. Wash and dry Rinse lightly in lukewarm water, wipe off the moisture and dry completely. Standing it upside down overnight is reliable.
Without rice, flour or potato starch dissolved in water works. What matters is that starch enters the pores. Prepare enough liquid to submerge the piece completely.
Which pieces need it
| Type of piece | Medome | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Stoneware | Needed | Fine pores at the surface take in oils and color |
| Kohiki and hakeme | Especially needed | The slip layer readily holds moisture |
| Yakishime and donabe | Needed | No glaze; liquid touches the body directly |
| Crazed pieces | Needed | Color enters through the cracks |
| Porcelain | Not needed | Almost no absorbency |
What to keep doing afterwards
Medome is not a one-off. How you use the piece day to day becomes how it develops.
Passing it through water just before use prevents soy sauce or coffee entering dark in one spot. Wash soon after use and dry completely before putting it away; stored damp, mould appears in the slip and the crazing.
Keep that habit and the staining enters evenly, not as dirt but as keinen bika.
Related terms and guides
Related terms
- Yakishime: Unglazed Pottery Fired to Its Limit
- Kohiki Pottery: The White Slip Technique, Explained
- Hakeme: The Brush-Marked White Slip Technique
- Keinen Bika: Pottery That Gets Better With Age
- Suyaki (Bisque Firing): What Happens in the First Fire
- Japanese Pottery Glossary | Terms, Techniques & Kilns
Read further
- How to Care for Japanese Ceramics: A Practical Guide
- Crazing (Kannyu): Cracks in Glaze That Aren't Damage
- Pottery That 'Grows': How Ceramics Change With Use
- Stoneware vs Porcelain: How to Tell Them Apart
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Start with that first small effort
A piece used after medome takes on staining evenly. Look for one you will keep for years.
Browse new arrivalsHow to
Step 1: Put the rice water and the piece in a pan
Use enough cloudy water from rinsing rice to cover the piece completely. With no rice water to hand, 2 tablespoons of plain flour or potato starch dissolved in 1 litre of water will do. The point is for the starch to enter the pores, so full immersion matters more than the concentration.Step 2: Simmer on a low heat for 10 to 20 minutes
Keep it at a bare simmer. A hard boil knocks the pieces together and chips the rims. Allow 20 minutes for a donabe or a large piece, 10 minutes for a small plate or a yunomi.Step 3: Turn off the heat and let it cool fully in the pan
Taking a piece out while hot cracks it through the temperature difference. Leave it where it is until it returns to room temperature, roughly 2 to 3 hours. Even if you are in a hurry, do not lift it out of the pan.Step 4: Wash it, then dry it upside down overnight
Rinse lightly in lukewarm water and wipe the surface dry with a cloth. Water is still held inside the body, so stand the piece upside down with the foot uppermost, leave it somewhere with air moving for a night, and only then put it away.
FAQ
How do I season a new Japanese unglazed bowl before first use?
Which pieces need medome?
What exactly do I do, and what if I have no rice?
Does medome need repeating?
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New to Japanese pottery? Start here — its history, how pottery differs from porcelain, the clays and glazes behind each style, and how to care for a piece. → Japanese Pottery: The Complete Guide