Japanese Pottery Patterns: What the Motifs Actually Mean

A single line drawn across a piece. Each time the brush moves, a flower opens, a wave rises, a crane takes flight.

Among Japanese ceramics, painting — the techniques of drawing images and patterns on the surface of pottery — is a great culture that has lifted pottery from mere utensil to art worth contemplating.

Painting covers an enormous range of styles. What is drawn? What pigments and techniques are used? And what painting style does each region hold? This article explains the world of Japanese painted pottery from three angles: pattern, technique and region.

What painting on pottery means

Painting is the general term for techniques that draw images and patterns with pigments or glaze on the surface of pottery, either after bisque firing or after glazing. Within traditional Japanese ceramics it developed above all in the world of porcelain — Arita, Kutani, Kyo ware.

There are two broad techniques: underglaze painting and overglaze painting. The difference between them produces a large gap in the finished color, character and texture.

History: arrival in Japan and its own development

The roots of Japan's painting culture lie in China. From the Tang dynasty (618–907) onward, China developed sometsuke (drawing on white porcelain with the blue pigment cobalt) and polychrome glazes (sancai, gosai), and these techniques and styles spread across East Asia.

A full painted porcelain culture arose in Japan in the early 17th century. In 1616 the potter Yi Sam-pyeong of Hizen Province (now Arita in Saga Prefecture) is said to have fired white porcelain in Japan for the first time, taken as the birth of Japanese porcelain. Sakaida Kakiemon then established the technique of akae in the mid-17th century, and its adoption as the Kakiemon style in porcelain exported to Europe made Japanese painted porcelain known to the world.

In the Kaga domain (now Ishikawa Prefecture), Kutani ware began in the late 17th century, and intensely polychrome overglaze painting developed on its own path. In Kyoto, Ninsei (Nonomura Ninsei) produced graceful enamelled porcelain shaped by court culture, laying the foundation of Kyo ware.

Through the 18th and 19th centuries, varied painting styles flowered across Japan. Many are still carried on, patterns and techniques passing from one craftsperson's hands to the next.

The two painting techniques: under and over the glaze

Painting divides broadly into two techniques. Only the order of firing differs, and yet the color and the ease of use change with it.

Underglaze painting

The design is drawn in pigment directly on the surface of a bisque-fired piece, a clear glaze is applied over it, and it is fired at high temperature. Because the pigment is sealed beneath the glaze, the painting is protected. For detail see our article on underglaze painting.

The leading example is sometsuke. The design is drawn in cobalt (gosu), a clear glaze is applied, and firing brings out a clear indigo image on white ground. It is the representative painting style used across many Japanese regions — Arita, Hasami, Mino.

• The color is stable　With the pigment beneath the glaze, it does not come off with rubbing.
• Easy to handle　Many pieces are dishwasher and microwave safe.
• The palette is subdued　The color comes out mainly as indigo and iron brown.

Overglaze painting

Enamels that fuse at low temperature are painted with a brush on the surface of a piece after its main firing, and it is fired again at 700–800°C. Freedom of color is high and vivid polychrome work is possible. For detail see our article on overglaze painting.

• Polychrome is possible　Red, green, yellow, purple and more can be used freely.
• Gold is also overglaze　Gold decoration is expressed in overglaze work.
• Watch impact and friction　Because the enamel sits on the surface, do not scrub hard.
• Not for the dishwasher　Many pieces are best kept out of the microwave too.

The main regions and their painting styles

Arita (Saga): masterpieces in sometsuke and akae

Arita ware is the region that carried Japanese painted porcelain to the world, producing masterpieces in both sometsuke and enamel painting. Its representative styles are as follows.

• Sometsuke style　Indigo underglaze on white porcelain. Delicate plant, landscape and arabesque patterns are representative. With cleanness and standing, it is used widely from everyday tableware to tea utensils.
• Kakiemon style (enamel)　Overglaze painting of delicate plants and birds in red, green, yellow, indigo and black on a milk-white (nigoshide) porcelain surface. Exported to Europe in the 17th century, it influenced ceramics at Meissen (Germany) and Delft (the Netherlands).
• Kinrande　A luxurious style layering akae and gold over sometsuke. Also known as Imari and ko-Imari, it was prized in European court culture.

Kutani (Ishikawa): bold beauty in intense color

Kutani is characterised by overglaze painting using the gosai — green, yellow, purple, deep blue and red. It has produced the most richly colored, most present work among Japanese painted ceramics.

• Aode Kutani　Bold overglaze work using green and deep blue as the main colors, outlined in gold. Its boldness fills the whole piece with color until almost no white porcelain shows.
• Akae hosogaki　Drawing dense patterns and figures with an extremely fine brush in red pigment. Demanding great drawing skill, it is one of Kutani's highest techniques.
• Yurikinsai　A distinctive technique combining gold with underglaze work. Known as the technique established by the contemporary Kutani maker Yoshida Minori, the gold shining from beneath the glaze has no equal.

Kyo and Kiyomizu ware (Kyoto): the grace of court culture

Kyo and Kiyomizu ware are characterised by refined painting raised within the cultural background of Kyoto. Shaped by court and tea culture, the region produces much delicate work with real standing.

• Nonomura Ninsei style　Overglaze painting of plants, the moon and snow scenes, rendered with poetic feeling on the tea jars and water containers used in tea. It is the source of a Japanese approach to drawing from life — observing nature faithfully.
• Ogata Kenzan style　The free, modern painting established by Ogata Kenzan, a pupil of Ninsei. His style of drawing plants and calligraphy boldly on stoneware still greatly influences makers today.

Mino (Gifu): where Japanese motifs meet geometry

Painting in Mino ware is symbolised by Oribe ware, born in the Momoyama period (16th–17th centuries).

• Oribe　Geometric patterns, plants and figures drawn boldly in green Oribe glaze and iron underglaze. Combined with asymmetrical, distorted forms, it is a style with strong affinity for modern art.
• Iron painting on Shino　Pine, reeds and plants drawn simply in low-iron pigment on the white surface of feldspar glaze. It carries a spare beauty embodying the world of wabi tea.

The traditional patterns that decorate a piece

Certain patterns appear again and again in Japanese painting, and each carries deep meaning and history.

Seigaiha (blue ocean waves)

A pattern of fan-shaped wave crests overlapped in regular order. Because the sea continues calmly, it symbolises peace and endless happiness. Especially common in Arita and Kutani sometsuke, it is widely known internationally as a Japanese pattern.

Asanoha (hemp leaf)

A geometric pattern of repeating hexagons. Because hemp is strong and grows quickly, it is held to be auspicious, wishing healthy growth for a child. Famous as a kimono pattern too, it is often used on pottery in sometsuke and stencil work.

Karakusa (arabesque)

A pattern of plant vines spreading in curves, symbolising vitality and the flourishing of descendants. Originating in Chinese and Islamic art, it is an old pattern found in Japan among the Shosoin treasures. Sometsuke karakusa has long been loved as a staple of Japanese tableware.

Shochikubai (pine, bamboo and plum)

An auspicious pattern combining pine (longevity), bamboo (integrity) and plum (endurance). These three, which endure winter cold, are also called the Three Friends of Winter, and they are much used on pottery for celebrations and gifts.

The crane

A symbol of longevity. Its elegant form makes it much used on pottery for celebrations and weddings. Crane patterns in sometsuke and in enamel are representative motifs of Arita and Kutani.

Plant and flower patterns

Patterns drawing the flowers of each season — cherry, chrysanthemum, wisteria, iris, morning glory. This is the category with the greatest freedom in Japanese painting, where varied expression has arisen by region, maker and era. Even within cherry blossom, the line weight and use of empty space differ completely between an Arita craftsperson and a young contemporary maker.

Choosing and enjoying painted pottery

Knowing what a pattern means deepens attachment to a piece considerably. And knowing the difference between the techniques lets you choose pieces for daily use and pieces for a collection.

• For daily use at the table　Underglaze sometsuke is overwhelmingly easier to handle. The indigo of cobalt sets off pale ingredients beautifully and suits both Japanese and Western food — an everyday piece.
• For gifts and special occasions　Overglaze enamel and gold-decorated pieces are ideal as celebratory gifts or as pieces to look at, displayed in an alcove. Kutani and Arita enamel work enjoys high popularity abroad as Japanese art.
• For enjoying region and maker　Even within a sometsuke arabesque, the work of an Arita craftsperson and of a young contemporary maker differ completely in line weight, rhythm and treatment of empty space. Adding the question of who painted this takes you into the deep world of painted pottery.

A world of varied patterns and painting techniques

Japanese painted pottery holds what might be called infinite variation, through the combination of three things: technique (underglaze or overglaze), region (Arita, Kutani, Kyo, Mino and others) and pattern (seigaiha, asanoha, karakusa, crane and others).

Even drawing the same arabesque, the clean indigo line of sometsuke and the luxurious enamel of Kutani give the impression of entirely different pieces. The depth of Japanese painting lies where a vocabulary of patterns refined over centuries overlaps with the individuality of each region.

Adding the question of what is drawn on it when you choose turns painted pottery into art that enriches life, beyond mere tableware.

Related guides

More on the culture and history of Japanese ceramics

• A Short History of Japanese Ceramics, Jomon to Now

More on Japan's pottery regions

• Japanese Pottery by Region: A Buyer's Map
• Arita Ware: Japan's First Porcelain, 400 Years On
• Kyo Ware and Kiyomizu Ware: Kyoto's Refined Ceramics
• Kutani Ware: Japan's Boldest Ceramic Painting
• Hasami Ware: Everyday Japanese Porcelain from Nagasaki
• Tobe Ware: Shikoku's Thick, Everyday Blue Porcelain
• Mino Ware Guide: Oribe, Shino and Japan's Biggest Kiln
• Tajimi: Where Contemporary Mino Ceramics Are Made

How to choose Japanese ceramics

• Why Japanese Pottery Is Worth Buying (and Keeping)

How to buy Japanese ceramics

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• Buying Japanese Pottery Online: What to Check First
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