The origins of AKAZU Yaki (Pottery) can be traced back to Sue ware, a type of pottery fired during the Nara period (around 700 AD), and the traditional techniques, methods, and names that exist today were established in the early Edo period.
From the Momoyama period to the early Edo period, various glaze techniques were established, including those for Shino, Oribe, Kizeto, and Ofuke ware. The kiln flourished as the official kiln of the Owari Tokugawa family and continues to this day.

• Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques

  1. The molding process shall be carried out by "potter's wheel molding," "slab molding," or hand-building.

  2. When decorating the base material, the following methods may be used: carving, spatula marks, hammering, spatula carving, beveling, openwork carving, cloth pattern, Mishima style, stamping, comb pattern, pasting, or relief carving.

  3. Do not fire the pottery. (Except for those made using only "Akatsuyama clay.")

  4. When applying underglaze decoration, it must be done by hand. In this case, the pigments used shall be "red enamel," cobalt blue, or yellow ochre.

  5. Apply glaze. In this case, the glaze shall be "Oribe glaze," "Shino glaze," "Kiseido glaze," "Koseido glaze," "Ash glaze," "Ofukai glaze," or "Iron glaze."

  6. For items using "Oribe glaze," the "Tochi tannin removal" process must be performed.

   

  raw materials

  1. The clay used shall be "Motoyama Kibushi clay," "Akatsu Irome clay," or "Akatsu mountain clay," or a material of equivalent quality.

  2. The feldspar used in the glaze shall be of "Chikura" quality or equivalent.

• Work scene

  Work scene

  Step 1: Clay preparation

  In addition to Motoyama Kikushi clay, Akatsu Kaerume clay, and Akatsuyama soil (all from Seto), we also use materials such as Sanage feldspar.

  工程2： 成形

  A combination of pottery wheel forming, slab forming, and hand-building techniques are used.

  

  Step 3: Finishing the base material

  Twelve techniques are used: carving, spatula work, hammering, spatula carving, shaving, openwork, cloth texture, Mishima style, stamped patterns, combed patterns, pasting, and relief carving.

  Step 4: Underpainting

  The painting is done by hand directly onto the base material, using pigments such as red enamel, cobalt blue, and yellow ochre.

  

  Process 5: Glazing

  Glazes are broadly classified into seven types: ash, iron, Old Seto, Yellow Seto, Oribe, Shino, and Ofukai.

  工程6： 焼成

  Start at a low temperature and slowly increase it (usually 1170-1250 degrees Celsius). The baking time is 24 to 30 hours.

  Step 7: Adding horse chestnut tannin

  In the case of Oribe ware, the fired pieces are soaked for about a day in a solution of dissolved acorn tannins. This is to remove copper oxide from the surface and to allow the tannins to penetrate into the cracks in the glaze.

  
• Close-up

  Close-up

  AKAZU Yaki (Pottery), one of Japan's six ancient kilns, has a thousand-year history.

  When you hear the name of Seto City in Aichi Prefecture, everyone immediately thinks of "Setomono" (pottery). While a wide range of ceramics are produced there, AKAZU Yaki (Pottery) pottery made in the Akatsu district on the eastern edge of the city, is said to have originated in the Asuka and Nara periods and is counted as one of Japan's six ancient kilns.

   

  A tradition nurtured in a tranquil environment

  Located about a 10-minute drive from Owari-Seto Station, the hilly Akatsu district truly deserves the name "Village of Pottery." Numerous kilns line the streets, and remnants of the old climbing kilns that utilized the slopes can be seen here and there. We visited Harumine Umemura of Rogetsu Kiln and spoke with him. Umemura, who says that "clay was his playmate" since childhood, worked as a civil servant before taking over the venerable kiln that had been in operation since the Edo period in 1965 at the age of 39. It was during the period of rapid economic growth. "I think I started in a good time," he says. But he didn't just take advantage of the times; he poured his own inquisitive spirit and enthusiasm into working on the traditional techniques of AKAZU Yaki (Pottery).

  What kind of finished product will it be? We await the next step in the process.

  The Wonders of Seven Glazes

  The phrase "seven glazes, twelve techniques" is often used to describe the characteristics of AKAZU Yaki (Pottery). Originally, glazes had different names depending on their color and firing conditions, and there were many types. It was actually Mr. Umemura's idea to organize them into seven types. "I was imagining rainbow colors." Starting with the ash glaze of the early Heian period, Akatsu was one of the earliest places in Japan to use glaze. "First of all, this region has good clay. It's white clay with low iron content. It's like dressing it in various garments." The powerful blackish-brown iron glaze, the bright and elegant Kiseido, the deep green Oribe, and also Koseto, Shino, and Ofukai—each has its own rich and flavorful color, truly like a secret elixir of seven colors. And the numerous decorative techniques that highlight the variety of glazes are also a characteristic of AKAZU Yaki (Pottery). Many techniques such as spatula marks, comb marks, stamped patterns, and relief carving originated in this region and were passed down to other production areas.

  The tools are handmade, and each one is well-used.

  Potters of the future will need total production support.

  "AKAZU Yaki (Pottery) is a job for all kinds of people." The work begins with kneading the clay. Since the glazes are all made by hand, each artist's unique style comes through. "I work with the perspective of how to make the best possible product. You have to have the desire to say, 'This is how I would make it...'" Pottery is not easily adapted to changing times, and developing new products is difficult. Within that context, it is necessary to consider designs that match the sensibilities of the times and everyday items that respond to changes in lifestyles. "It's no longer the era of mass consumption. It's about adding some kind of value and getting people to buy good products. Potters of the future will need to be designers, technicians, and distributors." The challenge is how to sell what you make without relying on distributors. "I always tell them to create their own fans and their own customers." Looking ahead to the future of AKAZU Yaki (Pottery), he is considering the development of tourism and online PR, and he argues that in order to pass on the tradition, it is important to have not only technical skills but also academic backing and knowledge, and he has high expectations for the younger generation. "I want it to continue being made in Akatsu, a place with a rich history, forever."

  "Chikura" used in glazes

  Entrust everything to the magic of fire.

  Umemura himself, who says this, still has no waning creative drive. More than a decade ago, he made a flat tea bowl with iron crystal glaze. Something interesting came out of the fire, and although he has tried hundreds of times since, he has never been able to make the same thing. "I want to make that again in my lifetime. And of course, I want to make a piece that will last for future generations." He says that one of the charms of pottery is entrusting the final, crucial part to "fire," which is beyond one's own ability. The power to change things for better or for worse. The magic of fire expands the possibilities of the seven-colored glaze.

  A vase exhibited by Ms. Umemura at the Nagoya Design Expo.

  Craftsman Profile

  Seihō Umemura

  Born in 1926. He is committed to originality and high quality, distinct from mass production.

  

  Anecdotes

  The popularity of tea and the vessels that are cherished as tea ceremony utensils

  AKAZU Yaki (Pottery) boasts a long history spanning over a thousand years, and during the Momoyama period, with the development of the tea ceremony, tea ceramics such as Oribe, Shino, and Kiseido were actively produced. The deep, AKAZU Yaki (Pottery) ware is well-suited to the world of tea, which values etiquette and manners. Incidentally, there was a more recent period when tea ceremony became popular as a hobby. That was in the 1960s. If I recall correctly, it was a boom for many women, from elementary school students to housewives, to attend tea ceremony classes. Not only did they learn outside the home, but many also acquired proper tea ceremony equipment at home, and it's likely that many even bought new equipment when they got married. During this period, the production of tea ceremony utensils, including matcha bowls, was also thriving. Nowadays, the custom of entertaining guests with formal tea ceremony etiquette has become much less common, and more multi-purpose vessels are being produced than tea ceremony utensils. The demand for pottery is changing with the trends in society.

  • The world of tea ceremony, which places great importance on etiquette, is also strict about tea utensils.