Japanese pottery

Introduction
Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1192–1573)
Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573–1600)
Edo period (1603–1867)
19th century and beyond

References & Edit History Related Topics

Images

Ceramic bowl repaired with kintsugi, featuring visible gold lines highlighting cracks and breaks in the light brown surface.

Stoneware dish with brush-painted sugarcane pattern by Hamada Shōji, after 1930; in the Philadelphia Museum of Art

Related Questions

How did Hamada Shōji and Kawai Kanjirō contribute to modern Japanese ceramics?
How did Initial Jōmon pots help people cook food over fire pits?
How did Japanese ceramic artists move from functional vessels toward sculptural works in the modern period?
How did Japanese potters make finger marks and tool marks part of a vessel’s design?
How did Jōmon pottery styles change during the Early Jōmon period?
How did Kakiemon porcelain influence European porcelain in the 18th century?
How did Korean craftsmen contribute to the beginning of porcelain production at Arita?
How did Ninsei decorate Kyōto earthenware?
How did Old Kutani porcelain differ from lighter Japanese porcelain wares?
How did Yanagi Sōetsu encourage a return to folk traditions in modern Japanese ceramics?
How did Yayoi pottery differ from Jōmon pottery?
How did the tea ceremony develop at the court of Ashikaga Yoshimasa in Kyōto?
How did wood ash accidentally contribute to the first smear glazes on Sueki ware?
How were tea bowls judged during a Japanese tea ceremony?
What evidence suggests that Middle Jōmon pottery was used in religious rituals?
What features identify Shino ware?
What features identify yellow Seto ware?
What made Bizen ware distinct from other Japanese pottery?
What made Nabeshima ware different from porcelain made for export?
What shapes and colours were common in early Jōmon pottery?
What shapes and glaze colours were used in early Kyōto raku ware?
What varieties of Karatsu ware were made in Hizen province?
When was Jōmon pottery made in Japan?
Which colours and design features are typical of Kakiemon porcelain?
Which colours were commonly used for painted decoration on traditional Japanese pottery?
Which glaze colours were used on Oribe ware?
Which tea utensils were selected and discussed during a Japanese tea ceremony?
Why did Japanese potters value irregular shapes and accidental-looking glaze effects?
Why did Japanese pottery decline toward the end of the Heian period?
Why did traditional Japanese tea rooms have very low doorways?
Why were coloured Arita export wares called Imari ware?
Why were haniwa figures hollow?
Why were pottery and porcelain used less often than wooden utensils in traditional Japanese homes?

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External Websites

Old and Sold - Japanese Porcelain And Pottery Marks

Haniwa Garden Haniwa Garden of Heiwadai Park, Miyazaki, Japan.

Japanese pottery

Written by

George Savage

Freelance writer. Author of Concise History of Interior Decoration; French Decorative Art; Porcelain Through the Ages; and many other works on the decorative arts.

George Savage

Fact-checked by

Britannica Editors

Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....

Britannica Editors

History

Japanese pottery, objects made in Japan from clay and hardened by fire: earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain. Japan is a well-wooded country, and wood has always been used there for domestic utensils of all kinds, either in a natural state or lacquered. Until recent times, pottery and porcelain were not employed extensively for general domestic use but were reserved for such special purposes as the tea ceremony. In pottery the Japanese especially admire accidental effects that...

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