Storage jar

Shigaraki ware jars of this shape are thought to have been used to store grain. They were hung from ceilings of storehouses by a rope tied around the jars' short necks. This practice frequently caused breakage of the mouth rim, as seen in this jar.

Shigaraki is about nineteen miles southeast of Kyoto. Since the 1400s, storage jars and water jars made of local clay and fired at a high temperature in hillside kilns in the valley have been widely used by local people. Coil-built Shigaraki ware is distinguished by an olive-green glaze on the reddish-brown clay-an accidental result of ash settling on the jars during firing. The texture of shining spots of melted quartz and feldspar also adds character to the clay body. The rustic quality of Shigaraki ware was admired by an early group of tea practitioners who came to treasure these otherwise utilitarian objects.