Colorful Ceramics

One bright piece on the table is enough to lift an ordinary meal.

Deep blues that go almost black toward the rim. Pinks that came out of the kiln warmer than intended and were kept exactly as they were. Green glaze crystallised into small stars across a bowl. The colour is the glaze itself rather than any paint, and the potter is deliberately letting something half outside their control do the work.

Most of the strongest colour comes from overglaze enamel, fired a second time at lower heat. That second firing is what makes true red possible, and gold along with it. Kutani built its name on five of them: green, yellow, purple, deep blue and red, together called gosai. Kutani ware is the boldest painting tradition in Japan. Pieces carrying gold or silver want a hand wash and no microwave.