At the beginning of the 19th century, the porcelain firing techniques brought back from Kyushu by locals and the painting techniques for soft, lustrous Chinese-style designs, taught by painting experts, influenced each other and developed significantly. By the mid-19th century, the techniques and methods of SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) were established.
Through the continued efforts of the painters, a unique Seto underglaze blue technique was developed that captures the natural beauty of Seto.
During the Meiji era, the production of blue and white porcelain further expanded and flourished. In addition to tableware, larger items such as vases, tiered boxes, lanterns, and tables began to be produced. These products continue to be made to this day.

• Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques/raw materials

  Technology/techniques

  1. Molding shall be carried out by the following techniques or methods:
  (1) Wheel-thrown shaping shall be done by mold-throwing or hand-throwing.
  (2) In the case of porcelain, in addition to the molding method listed in (1), the body shall be molded by "bag casting" or "double casting," which involves scraping and finishing the entire surface of the body with water so that it has properties equivalent to those obtained by the molding method listed in (1).

  2. When applying patterns to the base material, the following methods may be used: carving, combing, chamfering, raising, pasting, slip planing, stamping, slip trailing, decorative coating, or cloth texture.

  3. Perform bisque firing.

  4. Underglaze decoration shall be done by line drawing, smearing, ink splattering, blown ink, application, brushstroke, scraping, or cloth texture. In this case, the pigments shall be cobalt blue pigment, underglaze red, rust pigment, or round pigment.

  5. Glazing shall be done by pouring, dipping, or brushing. In this case, the glaze shall be lime glaze, oak ash glaze, celadon glaze, or lapis lazuli glaze.

  6. Allow the pieces to soak before firing.

  7. When applying overglaze decoration, the methods used shall be line drawing, smudges, lacquer sprinkling, brushwork, gold and silver paint, or gold and silver leaf.

   

  raw materials

  The clay used shall be Sanage feldspar, Motoyama Kibushi clay, Motoyama Kaorume clay, or a material of equivalent quality.

   

• Work scene

  Work scene

  SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) refers to pottery made by decorating a white, unglazed earthenware base primarily with cobalt oxide pigment (gosu), then applying glaze and firing it. While "sometsuke" generally refers to porcelain, SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) also includes earthenware decorated with sometsuke.

  Step 1: Clay preparation

  The clay used in Seto porcelain is made by blending the highly viscous "Motoyama Kibushi clay" and "Motoyama Irome clay," which are unique to Seto, with translucent "Sanage feldspar" and other materials. These raw materials result in porcelain with the soft texture characteristic of SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics).

  

  Step 2: Formation of the substrate

  We prepare the base material for ceramics.
  1. Wheel-throwing: The shape is formed using the rotation of a potter's wheel.
  2. Mold molding: The clay, which has been flattened into a sheet, is pressed into a mold to form the shape.
  3. Hand-shaping: This method involves shaping the material solely by hand, using techniques such as rope making, thread cutting, and kneading.
  After shaping the base material, it is planed to make the thickness uniform, and then the surface is wiped smooth with a damp cotton cloth or sponge. Decorative work may also be done using planes or combs.

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  Step 3: Drying and firing.

  The molded clay is dried and then bisque-fired at around 850 degrees Celsius. This is done to remove moisture from the clay, resulting in a soft, white clay body.

  

  Step 4: Underglaze painting (applying the design as a base coat)

  "Sometsuke" refers to the technique of applying different mineral pigments to unglazed pottery using underglaze blue (cobalt oxide pigment), underglaze red (copper oxide pigment), rust pigment (iron oxide pigment; brown), and gold pigment (pink). Currently, it is common to use a single color, mainly cobalt blue (gosu), for the final design.

  Underglaze painting is the most important process in SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics), and there are various methods for applying the design.
  *Line drawing... This is a technique for uniformly drawing the outlines and lines of a pattern on the base material.
  *Dami... This technique involves filling in the outlined patterns with a thick brush. The cobalt blue pigment is collected in the tip of the brush and then applied.
  * Ink-repellent technique: This is a technique used to create patterns with white outlines. After drawing the desired pattern with ink, the entire surface is coated with a dama (a type of clay) and fired, causing the ink-drawn areas to turn white.
  *Tsuketate... A technique of drawing patterns with free-flowing brushstrokes. This can be seen especially in painterly works.
  In addition, there are various other techniques, such as blowing paint with a brush soaked in cobalt blue pigment, or scraping off the cobalt blue pigment applied to the base material with a plane to create patterns.

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  Process 5: Glazing

  Glaze is applied to the blue-and-white painted base. There are several methods for applying the glaze, including "pouring," "dipping," and "brushing." In Seto, "lime glaze" is mainly used. This lime glaze has excellent luster and translucency, making it suitable for glazing blue-and-white painted pieces. Other glazes used include "oak ash glaze," "celadon glaze," and "lapis lazuli glaze."

  

  Step 6: Drying and baking.

  The glazed clay body is dried and then fired. A characteristic of Seto ware is that at the end of the firing process, the temperature inside the kiln is maintained at a high temperature of about 1250 degrees Celsius to allow the glaze to mature, a process called "nerashi."

  

  工程7： 完成

  Some pieces are decorated with "overglaze painting." Overglaze painting involves adding colors and gold/silver that cannot be achieved with underglaze painting, and then re-firing at a low temperature of 700-800 degrees Celsius. Pieces that are not decorated with overglaze painting are considered complete once they have finished soaking and been removed from the kiln.

  

   

• Close-up

  Close-up

  Creating pottery that will be loved for generations to come

  Seto is a town of pottery with a 1300-year history. Seto pottery has been loved by many people for a long time, to the point that many people use the word "setomono" almost as synonymous with "ceramics." However, Seto pottery has also changed with the times throughout its long history. Sometsuke ware itself is a relatively new technique that began about 200 years ago, but soon after, it surpassed the pottery production up to that point and became the representative pottery of Seto. We spoke with Manabu Kato, a craftsman who was born into a family of Seto potters as the fourth generation and has continued to observe Seto pottery for many years.

   

  In the heyday of industrial production

  "Back then, it was all about trade. We were busy with work, and we made a lot of money." In the mid-1950s, when Kato began helping with the family pottery business, much of Seto's pottery production consisted of plain white coffee pots and sugar bowls for export. Kato's father also made coffee pots, which are now mainly produced in China and other countries. However, what Kato, who had loved drawing since he was a child, really wanted to do was the underglaze blue pottery that his grandfather had done. After a few years, he slowly began to study it. When his grandfather was making underglaze blue tea bowls and the like, the whole neighborhood was into underglaze blue pottery, and he learned from the local craftsmen and started making underglaze blue pottery, which was rare at the time.

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    Mr. Kato doing blue and white porcelain painting

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    Kato's workspace. The shelves in the workshop are packed with plates and bowls.

  If you can't paint, then blue and white porcelain is no good.

  "With underglaze blue porcelain, it's hard to get the color you like," says Kato. The color changes depending on the mixture of cobalt blue pigment and the glaze. From a deep navy blue that's almost black to a bright ultramarine, it changes with just a slight adjustment. The patterns are also difficult because they are drawn on round objects, unlike on paper. He learned about cobalt blue pigment mixtures and brushwork from his neighbors and studied them. Also, after taking up SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) was perfected about 200 years ago, many famous painters have painted underglaze blue porcelain and also instructed ceramic painters. The exquisite expression of Japanese painting is also a characteristic of SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics). Kato's painting skills are now good enough that he teaches others, and he has won awards at the Nitten Spring Exhibition three times. "You really need to be able to paint to do underglaze blue porcelain," says Kato, but this is probably because SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) in one go with almost no preliminary sketches.

  

  Draw lines on the plate. Even the fine details are drawn freehand.

  Craftsmen like those of the old days are no longer around.

  Craftsmen of the past were amazing, he said. "For example, when they made a five-tiered bento box, they would quickly paint the design on it. It was their job, so they had to be fast. And if, by chance, one of the middle tiers was not fired properly, they could take the third tier from the next box and put it in, and the design would fit perfectly. It was incredible." That's what a craftsman is, he said. But Mr. Kato said that such craftsmen will not be produced anymore. In the past, they could make 10,000 or even 20,000 of the same product and sell them, but that's not the case anymore. That's because they have to produce many different items in small quantities, slightly changing the design or shape, rather than making the same thing.

  

  These are blue and white porcelain vases made by Mr. Kato. Even though they are all the same cobalt blue, each one has a slightly different shade.

  Pottery that will be accepted by young people

  "It's a time-consuming job, but it's not appreciated as much as you'd expect," says Kato. Current printing technology is so advanced that while those in the know can tell the difference between machine-produced, machine-printed pottery that looks hand-painted and genuinely hand-painted, it's difficult for the untrained eye to distinguish. This is a major concern. Items in demand are mass-produced cheaply by machines. The only way for handmade items to survive is to create variations, producing many different kinds, even if only in small quantities. Also, to think of products that machines can't make. And to create new products faster than machines. Kato often goes to Nagoya and visits stores like Tokyu Hands, where young people gather. "I'm always thinking about what's popular with young people and what new things are available." The latest works he showed me were an ice cream bowl shaped like a slightly larger egg holder and a footed incense burner. The simple designs made me want one. Come to think of it, hand-painted Vietnamese tableware has been popular recently, so perhaps these would be well-received.

  Sometsuke ware is well suited to the Japanese constitution.

  "I think Seto pottery suits the Japanese physique. That's why, even if the form changes, I don't think it will disappear. Something that has continued for over a thousand years won't suddenly cease to exist. You never get tired of using it every day," Kato said at the end.

  

  Mr. Manabu Kato says with a smile that he's always thinking about new products.

  Craftsman Profile

  ​Manabu Kato

  Born in 1935 (Showa 10).
  After graduating from university, I took over the family business, the kiln, as the fourth generation.
  He is also active as the chairman of the Craftsmen's Association, which consists of 12 traditional craftspeople, promoting SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) throughout Japan.

  Anecdotes

  The style of Seto blue and white porcelain painting also influenced Art Nouveau.

  The soft white and varying shades of SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) depicting flowers, birds, insects, and landscapes, received high praise at the World's Fairs held in Europe, such as SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) and Paris, in the early 20th century, and its name became known worldwide. The style of SETO Sometsuke Yaki (Underglazed Ceramics) developed significantly thanks to the many famous painters who visited Seto from ancient times to paint and instruct ceramic painters. Well-known names include Yamamoto Baiitsu (1783-1857) and Yokoi Kinkoku (1758-1832).

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    Large porcelain vase with blue and white floral and bird design. Circa 1877 (Meiji 10).

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    Blue and white porcelain bowl with phoenix and arabesque design. Circa 1880-1890 (Meiji 10-20).