Hagi Ware
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

is a type of
Japanese pottery , is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionally ...
traditionally originated from the town of
Hagi, Yamaguchi is a city located in Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan, which was incorporated on July 1, 1932. As of May 31, 2016, the city has an estimated population of 50,179 and a population density of 71.80 of persons per km². The total area is 698.86 km². ...
, in the former
Nagato Province , often called , was a province of Japan. It was at the extreme western end of Honshū, in the area that is today Yamaguchi Prefecture. Nagato bordered on Iwami and Suō Provinces. History Although the ancient capital of the province was Shimono ...
.


History

The origins of Hagi ware can be traced back to the arrival of Korean potters to Hagi, a town situated in
Yamaguchi Prefecture is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Chūgoku region of Honshu. Yamaguchi Prefecture has a population of 1,377,631 (1 February 2018) and has a geographic area of 6,112 Square kilometre, km2 (2,359 Square mile, sq mi). Y ...
on the Japan Sea, following Japan's military invasion of the Korean peninsula in the late 16th century. As a result, a large number of Korean craftsmen were abducted and transported to Japan, where they played a crucial role in establishing new pottery types such as
Satsuma Satsuma may refer to: * Satsuma (fruit), a citrus fruit * ''Satsuma'' (gastropod), a genus of land snails Places Japan * Satsuma, Kagoshima, a Japanese town * Satsuma District, Kagoshima, a district in Kagoshima Prefecture * Satsuma Domain, a sou ...
,
Arita Arita may refer to: *Arita (surname) *Arita, Saga, a town in Saga Prefecture, Japan :* Arita ware, a kind of Japanese porcelain made in the area around the town * ''Arita'' (skipper), a genus of butterflies in the grass skipper family *Arita, a br ...
, and Hagi ware ("hagi yaki"). The local feudal lord of the Hagi area at the time, Terumoto Mōri, had appointed potters in a castle town of Matsumoto (presently the city of Hagi) in order to create Hagi wares for his personal tea ceremonies and as gifts. The potters in Matsumoto steadily increased their production so that more kilns were established in Fukawa territory (presently the city of Nagato) during the mid-17th century. However, due to the
Meiji Restoration The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
in 1868, the potters employed by Lord Mori were dismissed and began to run their own independent businesses. Gradually, more kilns were built outside of Hagi, spreading to the Miyano area of Yamaguchi city and also to other parts of the southwest region of Yamaguchi Prefecture. Thus, Hagi ware production continued throughout the Edo era. The tradition of tea ceremonies and tea houses continue to this day in Hagi, which in turn created demand for vessels. Some well-known tea ceremony artists include Koraizaemon Saka XI and Koraizaemon Saka XII (高麗左衛門), Sakata Deika XIII (坂田泥華), Tobei Tahara XII (田原陶兵衛) and Yū Okada (岡田裕). Another expert is Miwako Masaki. A non-Japanese artist is Bertil Persson, a Swede.


Characteristics

The subtle form and natural, subdued colors of Hagi ware are highly regarded. In particular, the beautiful contrast between the bright green color of
matcha is finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves, traditionally consumed in East Asia. The green tea plants used for matcha are shade-grown for three to four weeks before harvest; the stems and veins are removed during ...
eaand the warm neutral tones of Hagi ware is aesthetically notable. Regarding tea wares, there is a famous expression in Japanese that is " Raku first, Hagi second and
Karatsu is a city located in Saga Prefecture on the island of Kyushu, Japan. Its name, formed from the Japanese word roots 唐 ''kara'' (China, or continental East Asia in general), and 津 ''tsu'' (port), signifies its historical importance as a ...
third". This old tea adage indicates the rank of tea wares preferred for tea ceremonies. It implies that tea wares with distinguishing characteristics of earthy feel and looks are most valued. Two types of fine-grained soft
clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...
are used as the base material. The earth is first mixed with water, then strained. During the process, wood chips are often added, causing the less dense parts to rise while the heavier parts sink to the bottom. This preparation process is repeated for two weeks until the water is entirely filtered without any residues, and the pure, fine clay is obtained from the bottom of the vat. The reddish to orange color of the clay is important as it will determine the texture and color of the Hagi surface. The beauty of Hagi ware is appreciated not only for its earthy colors but also for the glaze. The translucent beige glaze is to draw out the natural, deep colors of the clay. After being heated in the
kiln A kiln is a thermally insulated chamber, a type of oven, that produces temperatures sufficient to complete some process, such as hardening, drying, or chemical changes. Kilns have been used for millennia to turn objects made from clay int ...
, the glaze creates its signature fine web of cracks and fine pores -known as ''kan-nyuu'' (貫入) or
crazing Crazing is the phenomenon that produces a network of fine cracks on the surface of a material, for example in a glaze layer. Crazing frequently precedes fracture in some glassy thermoplastic polymers. As it only takes place under tensile stress, ...
- while cooling. Throughout the heating and cooling process, the cracks form because the glaze shrinks faster than the clay. Over time, a Hagi ware user might notice the color of the glaze getting darker. This is natural as the slightly porous surface absorbs the tea residues or sake through its tiny crackles, maturing over time. One might also notice a chip on the bottom, which was deliberately made by local pottery makers to sell the ware to merchants instead of presenting them as gifts to the
Mōri clan The Mōri clan (毛利氏 ''Mōri-shi'') was a Japanese samurai clan descended from Ōe no Hiromoto. Ōe no Hiromoto was descended from the Fujiwara clan. The family's most illustrious member, Mōri Motonari, greatly expanded the clan's power ...
during the Edo period. Even today, Hagi ware continues to evolve in a response to the demands of customers, the aesthetic preferences of Hagi artists, and the environment.


White Hagi

The white Hagi was developed by the Miwa family, one of the most highly regarded potting families in all of Japan. Their kiln was established in Kanbun 3 (1663) in the Matsumoto area of Hagi in order to produce tea utensils for Lord Mori Terumoto. Successive generations of Miwa potters have produced all sorts of works besides tea ware, including Raku ware (Kyusetsu I and IV studied in Kyoto), figurines of mythical creatures (Kyusetsu VI and VII), and vessels for the table. In the 1930s, Miwa Kyuwa (Kyusetsu X) revitalized the Hagi tea world with his warm and sensuous
chawan A ''chawan'' (; literally "tea bowl") is a bowl used for preparing and drinking tea. Many types of ''chawan'' are used in East Asian tea ceremonies. The choice of their use depends upon many considerations. History The ''chawan'' originated in ...
and other tea utensils. He adjusted the old pottery recipe by altering how the straw was burned and mixing it into the glaze solution to ultimately create a purer shade of white. Later, his younger brother Miwa Jusetsu (Kyusetsu XI) added power and strength with his Oni-Hagi (devil-Hagi) chawan. The brothers were named as living national treasures by the Japanese government for their Hagi wares in 1970 and 1983, respectively. Jusetsu's eldest son is Ryosaku, who is now known as Kyusetsu XII because his father passed on the honor to him in April 2003. The mixture for the black glaze contains high levels of
iron Iron () is a chemical element with symbol Fe (from la, ferrum) and atomic number 26. It is a metal that belongs to the first transition series and group 8 of the periodic table. It is, by mass, the most common element on Earth, right in f ...
and enhances the contrast with the white glaze. The mixture for the white glaze contains
Feldspar Feldspars are a group of rock-forming aluminium tectosilicate minerals, also containing other cations such as sodium, calcium, potassium, or barium. The most common members of the feldspar group are the ''plagioclase'' (sodium-calcium) feldsp ...
and
wood ash Wood ash is the powdery residue remaining after the combustion of wood, such as burning wood in a fireplace, bonfire, or an industrial power plant. It is largely composed of calcium compounds along with other non-combustible trace elements presen ...
. It is initially black and very thick in its
viscosity The viscosity of a fluid is a measure of its resistance to deformation at a given rate. For liquids, it corresponds to the informal concept of "thickness": for example, syrup has a higher viscosity than water. Viscosity quantifies the inte ...
, particularly noticeable in the way it flows down the vessel. Typically, the potter dips the vessel into the vat with the glaze for the white, and in extracting the vessel he or she can move the vessel around for the glaze to drip slowly in the direction desired. The aim is for the slowly dripping glaze to add dimension and movement to the piece - for example, in expressing the passage of time through the flow of the drip. The
carbon Carbon () is a chemical element with the symbol C and atomic number 6. It is nonmetallic and tetravalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with o ...
in the glaze then evaporates during firing and turns into a translucent white, with the high iron glaze in black emerging from under the background. The rich white glaze that coats the vessel and the black glaze in the background create a strong contrast with each other.


Literature

* Wilson, Richard L. ''Inside Japanese Ceramics''. Weatherhill, New York and Tokyo, Second Edition 2005.


References


External links

* http://hagiyakiya.com/en/hagiyaki/
"What is Hagi Guidebook"
on e-yakimono.net

{{Authority control Culture in Yamaguchi Prefecture Japanese pottery