Explore Japanese Ceramics

Ceramics, a mixture of cultures on earth

Seeing the whole history of Japanese ceramics, we can say that while ceramics are definitely a part of traditional Japanese culture, at the same time they are mixture of global cultures.

Some very common techniques such as the wheel and kiln were brought from Korea, as well as the techniques [...]

The Color of Ceramics – Glazing and Decorating

In pottery decoration, pigments which can withstand high temperatures such as gosu, tessa (also known as oni’ita) and shinsa (cinnabar) are used to paint designs after unglazed firing. Then the pottery is glazed, and once it undergoes complete firing, paints which can melt at low temperatures are used [...]

Japanese Folk Arts

People dwell on true beauty…”functional beauty”…especially when it comes to a thing they use day after day. As the Taisho Era arrived, practical and popular objects of craftwork (shominteki kougeihin…abbreviated as “mingei”) which had a simplicity that hadn’t been an object of merit up to that time in art history, showed a new [...]

The first ceramics in Japan: Jomon Ware
The very first examples of earthenware in the world were produced 12,000 years ago in the form of Jomon Ware, Japan’s very first ceramic products. Various kinds of pottery were produced ranging from products rolled in straw rope to produce patterns to figurines. Baked in open-air fires at comparatively [...]