Japanese Pottery Articles
Regions and kilns, techniques, how to choose and care for your pieces. Articles to start your journey into Japanese pottery.
-
How to Tell If Japanese Pottery Is Handmade
Is that piece of Japanese pottery really handmade? Where to look and what each sign means: the foot ring an...
-
Before First Use: Preparing Unglazed and Crackled Japanese Pottery
Which Japanese pottery needs preparing before first use and which does not, how to soak unglazed stoneware ...
-
Artisan Kawai Taichi | Ice-Like Crackle for Your Everyday Mug
Kawai Taichi makes pottery at Tobo Usurai in Kameoka, Kyoto Prefecture, using a hyoretsu kannyu (ice-crackl...
-
Artisan RiRiN | Black Clay Split, Torn and Finished Without Glaze
RiRiN makes pottery from black clay in Tokyo and finishes it without glaze, through contrast with white sli...
-
Artisan Suzuki Takashi | Growing Mikan Trees to Make Blue Glaze From Their Ash
Born and raised on a mikan farm in Odawara, Suzuki Takashi began making pottery, self-taught, at 35. Burnin...
-
Artisan Furutani Pottery | Making Kohiki White an Everyday Piece in Shigaraki
Furutani Pottery in Shigaraki, Shiga makes kohiki: iron-rich red clay covered with white slip. Founded in 1...
-
Artisan Masanori Yamamoto | Carving Only Shinogi, in Shigaraki
Almost everything Masanori Yamamoto makes in Shigaraki, Shiga Prefecture, is shinogi. In a kiln inherited f...
-
How Japanese Pottery Is Shaped: Five Forming Methods
Japanese ceramics vary greatly in appearance and texture depending on the shaping technique used. Based on ...
-
Japanese Pottery Glazes: The Main Types Explained
Japanese ceramics may share the same shape, yet each piece possesses a unique color and texture. This artic...
-
Shigaraki Tanuki: Why Every Japanese Shop Has One
Soma Ware (Ohori Soma Ware) is a traditional Japanese ceramic craft from Fukushima Prefecture with over 300...
-
Living National Treasures: Japan's Greatest Potters
Japan’s world-class ceramic quality is sustained by two key official honors: "Traditional Craftsmen," certi...
-
Japanese Pottery Patterns: What the Motifs Actually Mean
Etsuke (ceramic painting) elevates Japanese pottery into functional fine art through exquisite line work an...
-
Kintsugi: How to Repair Pottery With Gold (and Why)
Kintsugi is the traditional Japanese art of mending broken ceramics with natural Urushi lacquer and dusting...
-
Anagama vs Noborigama: Japanese Wood Kilns Compared
Unlike modern electric kilns, "Noborigama" (climbing kilns) utilize natural wood-firing to create unpredict...
-
Crazing (Kannyu): Cracks in Glaze That Aren't Damage
Crazing — the fine network of cracks running across a glaze — is one of japanese ceramics’ most beautiful p...
-
Urushi Lacquerware: How Japanese Lacquer Is Made
Japanese lacquerware lasts for centuries due to the chemical resilience of natural "urushi" and exquisite m...
