A Short History of Japanese Ceramics, Jomon to Now
The history of japanese ceramics reaches back more than 15,000 years. Shaped by East Asian influence yet changing along its own path, that history is carried on by potters today and lives still, in altered form. This article covers the historical background and the changes in japanese pottery in detail.
For anyone who wants to learn the appeal of japanese ceramics from the basics — history, philosophy — see the article below as well.
Jomon Pottery: Among the Oldest in the World, 15,000 Years Ago
The oldest pottery in Japan is what is called Jomon ware. Found at sites in Aomori Prefecture and elsewhere, it was named jomon — cord-marked — pottery.
What the Cord Marks Tell Us
The name Jomon comes from the cord patterns characteristic of the surface of pottery from this period. Pressing rope or cord into the clay surface produces a distinctive relief. This is the emblematic appearance of Jomon pottery.
Jomon ware was made by hand-building or coiling (stacking clay rolled into long ropes), and fired at low temperature (around 600–900°C), so its colour runs from red-brown to dark brown. It developed for boiling and storing food, but as the eras passed it also came to be used as ornament for ritual and burial.
Flame-Style Pottery: A Peak of Art
Around 4,000–5,000 years ago, pottery appeared whose extraordinary sculptural beauty went beyond the idea of a practical container: the flame-style pottery born along the Shinano River (Niigata and Nagano).
Complex decoration like flame rises at the rim, and the whole piece has the force of a sculpture. Vertically raised patterns, spiralling handles, complex sawtooth motifs. An overwhelming expressiveness that does not look practical at all. By this time, not only function but visual beauty was being expressed.
Several flame-style pots are designated National Treasures today, and can be seen at the Tokyo National Museum and the Niigata Prefectural Museum of History among others.
Evolution Through Exchange With the Continent
Pottery born in Japan's own way evolved further between the centuries BCE and the tenth century, through technical exchange with the Korean peninsula and China.
Yayoi Pottery: Thinner and More Regular
Around the third century BCE was also when wet-rice agriculture, so emblematic of Japan, took hold. With that culture came new technology from Korea and China: the use of the wheel, and high-temperature firing (from open firing to the kiln).
Jomon ware was mainly fired in the open, with fire lit directly on the ground; from this period the technique of raising temperature inside a kiln arrived, and Yayoi ware — thinner, more uniform and stronger than Jomon — was born.
Yayoi ware has less decoration than Jomon and is characterised by practical, simple forms. With the development of rice growing, ware for storing, cooking and serving food — jars, pots, bowls, pedestalled dishes — was mainly used.
Sueki: Grey, Hard Stoneware
Between the third and seventh centuries, the technology of the climbing kiln arrived from the Korean peninsula and transformed Japanese ware. A climbing kiln links several firing chambers in steps up a slope; its structure holds heat and made firing at high temperature possible.
Sueki, fired above 1,000°C, was harder than earlier pottery, less absorbent and more practical. Grey to blue-grey hard stoneware, sueki was made in quantity as burial goods, and spread widely as everyday eating and storage ware too.
The Establishment of the Six Ancient Kilns
As the eras passed and Japan's capital settled in Kyoto in the eighth century, Japanese kiln work began to develop along its own path. Absorbing Chinese and Korean influence, distinctive regions rooted in Japanese clay and aesthetics arose across the country. What was established in this era are the Six Ancient Kilns, still in production today.
| Kiln | Region | Character |
|---|---|---|
| Seto ware | Seto, Aichi | Japan's first glazed earthenware |
| Tokoname ware | Tokoname, Aichi | Large jars and teapots |
| Echizen ware | Echizen, Fukui | Large jars and water pots |
| Shigaraki ware | Koka, Shiga | Coarse clay, wood firing |
| Tamba ware | Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo | The plainness of a folk kiln |
| Bizen ware | Bizen, Okayama | Entirely unglazed; a symbol of wabi |
All six use no glaze, or keep it to a minimum, treasuring the clay body and the effects of flame. This direction later bound itself deeply to the aesthetics of wabi tea.
The history of each of the Six Ancient Kilns is covered in detail in its own article. Meeting japanese ceramics while knowing the differences between regions lets you understand the background, and enjoy them all the more.
- Seto Ware: The Kiln Town That Named Japanese Pottery
- Tokoname Kyusu: Why Red Clay Makes Tea Taste Better
- Echizen Ware: The Plainest of the Six Ancient Kilns
- Shigaraki Ware: Why Its Clay Sparkles After 1,200 Years
- Tamba Ware Guide: Japan's 800-Year Ash-Glazed Pottery
- Bizen Ware: Pottery With No Glaze at All
The Tea Revolution and a Reversal of Value
Where Tea Met Pottery
Between the fourteenth and sixteenth centuries, the value of japanese ceramics and the spirit invested in them changed greatly. What caused that change was the meeting of tea and ceramics.
Tea began to spread in Japan in this era. At first it was dominated by karamono-suki, prizing imports from China. What changed this at the root was the sixteenth-century tea master Sen no Rikyu.
Rikyu completed wabi-cha, establishing tea in a plain thatched room with rough Japanese and Korean earthenware. Bizen ware, Shigaraki ware, Korai celadon — ware until then seen as low in rank — was suddenly valued as the finest tea utensils.
Korean Potters and the Kilns of Kyushu
In sixteenth-century Kyushu, a history of its own began. Potters crossed from the Korean peninsula to Japan and opened kilns across Kyushu. This is the origin of a new ceramic culture centred on Kyushu — Arita ware, Karatsu ware, Satsuma ware, Hagi ware.
The discovery of kaolin, the raw material of porcelain, at Arita, and the start of Japan's first porcelain production, is one of the greatest turning points in the history of japanese ceramics.
The Birth of Porcelain and Export to Europe
From Arita to the World
In the seventeenth century, export of japanese ceramics flourished. Porcelain technique at Arita improved rapidly, and by the mid-seventeenth century large-scale export to Europe began from the port of Imari through the Dutch East India Company.
Louis XIV at Versailles; Augustus II at the Zwinger in Dresden. Arita porcelain — called "Imari ware" in Europe — which courts and aristocracy competed to collect, was acclaimed as a miracle from the East. That stimulus led to the birth of Meissen porcelain in Germany in 1709.
Distinctive Development Across the Regions
In the Edo period, ceramic regions across Japan developed, not only Arita.
- Kyoto Fine overglaze painting by Nonomura Ninsei and Ogata Kenzan established Kyo ware.
- Ishikawa The splendid development of Kutani ware (the birth of early "ko-kutani").
- Yamaguchi The establishment of Hagi ware and its spread through the world of tea.
- Aichi The strengthening of mass production at Tokoname and Seto.
The Edo period is when the diversity of japanese ceramics flowered to its fullest — from high-grade export porcelain to plain folk kilns.
Industrialisation and the Mingei Movement
The Wave of Modernisation
In the nineteenth century Japan pushed rapid modernisation and industrialisation. The ceramic industry was no exception: machine production and a divided workforce brought mass-produced goods to dominate the market. Handwork kilns struggled in price competition, and in some regions the transmission of traditional technique came under threat.
The Mingei Movement Defends the Value of Handwork
What arose as a powerful counter to this industrialisation was the mingei movement. In 1926 the philosopher Yanagi Soetsu announced his plan for a folk crafts museum. With the potters Hamada Shoji and Kawai Kanjiro, and the British potter Bernard Leach, he set out the idea that "true beauty lies in ware nameless craftspeople made carefully for daily use."
The word mingei — the crafts of the people — was born, and folk kilns until then seen as "rough provincial pottery" were rediscovered and re-evaluated: Mashiko ware, Tamba ware, Onta ware.
Living National Treasures and the Standing of Ceramics as Art
The system of Living National Treasures (Holders of Important Intangible Cultural Properties), born within postwar cultural policy, raised the standing of ceramics further still.
Hamada Shoji (Mashiko, 1955), Fujiwara Kei and Yu (Bizen, father and son both Living National Treasures), Tomimoto Kenkichi (porcelain painting), Miwa Kyuwa and Kyusetsu (Hagi). With these master makers receiving the highest public recognition, japanese ceramics established their evaluation as artworks rather than crafts.
A Living Tradition Today, and Its Global Reach
Japanese Ceramics in the 21st Century
Japanese ceramics in the twenty-first century exist at once as living tradition, contemporary art, and a global craft phenomenon.
Makers who purely inherit regional styles with centuries of history; makers pursuing contemporary expression of their own from a traditional starting point; makers working in the international art scene while using Japanese clay and technique. That diversity may be richer now than ever.
Reaching the World
Handmade ceramics once obtainable only within Japan now reach collectors in Singapore, Hong Kong, London, New York and Paris.
Rising interest in Japanese culture, a re-evaluation of handcraft, and the appearance of online platforms linking maker and buyer. These elements have overlapped, and global demand for japanese ceramics is expanding rapidly.
What the History Teaches
More than 15,000 years of the history of japanese ceramics teaches us, living now, how we should choose ware.
Local Clay and Culture Make the Ware
The red clay of Bizen, the pottery stone of Arita, the daido clay of Hagi. Each region holds an aesthetic of its own, raised by the geology and culture of that place. When choosing ware, knowing the region is the key to understanding why a piece has that colour, that texture, that form.
Tea Made the Aesthetics of Japanese Ceramics
Sen no Rikyu's wabi-cha revolution changed the standard of value in Japanese ware at its root. The beauty of imperfection, respect for chance, change within time. These ideas live still, carried through the ware contemporary makers produce.
The Living Culture of Each Era Required Its Ware
Jomon pottery for storing and cooking food, Edo porcelain for export and tea, contemporary ceramics for the richness of daily life and artistic expression. The living culture of each era decided the form and aesthetics of its ware. The ware makers produce today is part of contemporary living culture too.
A Timeline of Japanese Ceramic History
| Period | Main events |
|---|---|
| c. 15,000–2,300 years ago | Among the world's oldest pottery. Flame-style pots appear |
| c. 2,300–1,700 years ago | Sueki born under Korean and Chinese influence |
| 8th–12th century | The Six Ancient Kilns form. Glazed earthenware introduced |
| 12th–16th century | Tea culture rises. Bizen and Shigaraki valued by tea masters |
| Late 16th–early 17th century | Arita ware born (c. 1616); Kyushu develops its own path |
| 17th–19th century | Arita exported to Europe. Kyo ware and Kutani established |
| From 1868 | Modernisation and industrialisation. The mingei movement arises |
| From 1955 | Living National Treasures establish ceramics as art |
| 21st century | Tradition, contemporary work and global reach, side by side |
Technical Change: What Shifted, and What Did Not
Through 15,000 years of japanese ceramics, several fundamental technical changes occurred.
- Rising firing temperature Jomon (600–800°C) → sueki (1,000–1,100°C) → earthenware (1,100–1,250°C) → porcelain (1,250–1,350°C). The higher the temperature, the denser the body, the less it leaked, and the thinner and whiter a surface became possible.
- The evolution of the kiln Open firing → anagama → climbing kiln → rectangular kiln → gas and electric kilns. Each gain in temperature control and fuel efficiency opened new possibilities for glaze and decoration.
- The development of glaze Unglazed (Bizen) → natural ash glaze (Shigaraki) → single-colour glaze → iron pigment → sometsuke → overglaze painting → gold. Advances in glaze widened the richness of decoration.
And what did not change? Respect for clay and flame. The technique of firing Bizen ware for two weeks in a 1,300°C anagama has barely changed in over a thousand years. That very unchangingness is the source of Bizen's value today.
Experiencing the History of Japanese Ceramics
Learning history in words and touching clay, kiln and work in a region are entirely different experiences. Many of Japan's main regions welcome visitors, with pottery workshops, kiln tours and museums.
- Bizen (Okayama) Kilns and galleries line the streets from the moment you step off at Imbe Station on the JR Ako line. The Bizen Pottery Museum shows work spanning a thousand years in chronological order, and at the Bizen pottery festival each October you can talk directly with makers.
- Arita (Saga) The whole town is a museum of the history of porcelain. Historic kilns such as Kakiemon and Imaizumi Imaemon still operate. Two museums — the Arita Ceramic Museum and the Kyushu Ceramic Museum — let you study 400 years of porcelain history in depth.
- Shigaraki (Shiga) "The village of pottery," reached by the Shigaraki Kohgen Railway. Known for its tanuki figures, it is also a noted region for tea utensils and flower containers. The Shigaraki Traditional Industry Hall lets you feel the changes in Shigaraki ware.
- Mashiko (Tochigi) The home of mingei, Mashiko is one of the most accessible regions, two to three hours from Tokyo. The Hamada Shoji Memorial Mashiko Sankokan is an essential visit for experiencing the spirit and work of the mingei movement.
Visiting a region ties the context — this clay, this flame, this maker — to a piece in a real way. For a collector, visiting the region is the fastest way to deepen understanding of ware.
Related Articles and Guides
More on the Culture and History of Japanese Ceramics
- Japanese Ceramics: The Complete Guide for Beginners
- Reading Wabi-Sabi in a Single Bowl
- Kintsugi: How to Repair Pottery With Gold (and Why)
- Wabi-Sabi in Ceramics: What It Actually Means
- Tea Ceremony Ceramics: A Short History of the Chawan
- Mingei: The Folk Craft Movement That Changed Pottery
More on Japan's Kiln Regions
- Japanese Pottery by Region: A Buyer's Map
- Japan's Six Ancient Kilns: All 6 Regions Compared
- Arita Ware: Japan's First Porcelain, 400 Years On
- Bizen Ware: Pottery With No Glaze at All
- Kyo Ware and Kiyomizu Ware: Kyoto's Refined Ceramics
- Mashiko Pottery: Where Japanese Folk Craft Still Lives
- Karatsu Ware: Kyushu's Rough, Tea-Loved Pottery
- Satsuma Ware: The Gold-Painted Porcelain That Wowed Paris
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Today's Piece, at the End of 15,000 Years
At Nokaze, ware by makers across Japan is presented with the maker's profile, kiln, clay, glaze and firing method. Take in hand a piece standing at the leading edge of a long history.
Browse new arrivalsFAQ
When does the history of Japanese pottery begin?
What are the Six Ancient Kilns (Rokkoyo) in the history of Japanese pottery?
Seto ware (Seto, Aichi): the first glazed pottery made in Japan
Tokoname ware (Tokoname, Aichi): large jars, and the kyusu teapots it is still known for
Echizen ware (Echizen, Fukui): mainly large jars and water urns
Shigaraki ware (Koka, Shiga): coarse clay, and the character wood firing gives it
Tamba ware (Tamba-Sasayama, Hyogo): the plain beauty of a folk kiln
Bizen ware (Bizen, Okayama): entirely unglazed, and the emblem of wabi
How did the value placed on Japanese ceramics change over history?
Until then, displaying expensive Chinese imports, karamono, was the mark of status. When the tea master Sen no Rikyu completed wabi-cha, with its emphasis on plainness, the plain domestic wares that had been considered lower in rank, Bizen and Shigaraki among them, were suddenly valued as the finest tea utensils.
In the early 17th century, around 1616, Japan's first porcelain was produced at Arita in Kyushu. Exported to European courts in quantity, it prompted the birth of Meissen porcelain in Germany and grew into a name known worldwide.
What was the mingei folk craft movement?
It was led by the philosopher Soetsu Yanagi together with the potters Shoji Hamada and Bernard Leach. Through it, folk kilns that had been dismissed as rough provincial work, Mashiko and Onta among them, were reassessed. The movement leads directly to today's culture of valuing handwork, and to the postwar Living National Treasure system that established ceramics as an art form.
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