, formerly known as Nakano ware, is a type of

Japanese pottery is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and Japanese art, art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Types have included earthenware, pottery, stoneware, porcelain, and Blue and white porcelain, blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exception ...

traditionally from Koishiwara, Fukuoka Prefecture in western Japan. Koishiwara ware consists of utility vessels such as bowls, plates, and tea cups. The style is often

slipware Slipware is pottery identified by its primary decorating process where slip is placed onto the leather-hard (semi-hardened) clay body surface before firing by dipping, painting or splashing. Slip is an aqueous suspension of a clay body, whi ...

History

Pottery was first made in Koishiwara in 1682 as a result of the relocation of the Korean-founded

Takatori 270px, Takatori panorama 270px, Tosa kaido in Takatori is a town located in Takaichi District, Nara Prefecture, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 6,081 in 2820 households, and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The tota ...

workshop to nearby

Tsuzumi The or ''tsuzumi'' is a hand drum of Japanese origin. It consists of a wooden body shaped like an hourglass, and it is taut, with two drum heads with cords that can be squeezed or released to increase or decrease the tension of the heads respect ...

. A kiln for firing porcelain was built in Koishiwara, and porcelain wares were made for export there with local materials until the eighteenth century. The Koishiwara style as it is known today had developed by the mid-eighteenth century. Abandoning porcelain production, potters began to use dark-firing stoneware for their pottery.

20th Century Developments

Beginning in the mid-twentieth century, technological advancements such as clay crushers, kiln shelves, and electric kilns allowed Koishiwara potters to work more efficiently and profitably than other potters in the surrounding area. As a result, Koishiwara potters were able to purchase land near their ceramic sites and develop it as tourist resorts and retail centers. Modern Koishiwara ware pottery represents the success of the ''

mingei The concept of , variously translated into English as " folk craft", "folk art" or "popular art", was developed from the mid-1920s in Japan by a philosopher and aesthete, Yanagi Sōetsu (1889–1961), together with a group of craftsmen, includin ...

'' or folk craft movement in Japan.

Contemporary Koishiwara Style

Stylistic trademarks of Koishiwara ware include different types of slip decoration in which light-colored slip is applied to a leather-hard pot before a tool is used to create a pattern which reveals the dark clay underneath. The characteristic double glazing style of Koishiwara ware uses an overall clear glaze and trailing or pouring copper green and iron glazes in spots over the clear base glaze. The area still serves as a large ceramic production site for everyday wares, attracting tourists and selling large amounts of pottery every year.

References

Culture in Fukuoka Prefecture Japanese pottery {{japan-art-stub

History

20th Century Developments

Contemporary Koishiwara Style

See also

References