Kyoto Ware

Kyoto ware (Kyō-yaki) is a term for the type of ceramics fired in Kyoto. The first time this word appeared in documentary records was in the year 1605, when it was used in in the tea diary of Kamiya Sōtan (1551–1635), a merchant from Hakata in Kyushu. Sōtan's entry lists one of the utensils used in a tea gathering as "katatsuki: Kyō-yaki." Scholars believe that this refers to a Raku ware ceramic tea container (chaire). The tradition of Raku tea wares was continued by Hon’ami Kōetsu (1558–1637) and by generations of potters of the Raku family into the present day.

One of Ninsei's disciple was Ogata Kenzan (1663–1743, also known as Shinsei) who in 1699 went up to Narutaki in the north of Kyoto to build a kiln/ He later relocated to Chōjiya-cho in Nijō district in 1712, where he created dishes with pictorial or Rinpa style designs in collaboration with his older brother Ogata Kōrin (1658–1716).

In the latter half of the 18th century Okuda Eisen (1753–1811) successfully produced porcelain ware for the first time in Kyoto. Eisen tried to revive porcelains with cobalt underglaze with overglaze enamels and Cochin wares, which were originally made at the end of the Ming dynasty and the beginning of the Qing dynasty in China. His techniques was passed on to Gojōzaka kilns, and potters in the area turned to the reviving of traditional Chinese and Japanese ceramics.

The kilns at Kiyomizu which had been within the grounds of Kiyomizu Temple during the Edo period became unified with Gojōzaka kilns after the Meiji Restoration. Ceramics produced here would become known as Kiyomizu ware. Kiyomizu ware continued to thrive, especially through the production of sencha tea ceramics, whose popularity remained strong even after the Edo period.

In 1893 Seifū Yohei III (1851–1914) became the first potter to be designated as an Imperial Household Artist. This position was a great honor, similar to being a Member of the Japan Art Academy or a Holder of Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure) today. After Seifū, Itō Tōzan I (1846–1920) and Suwa Sozan I (1852–1922) were also appointed to the same position.

In 1896, the Kyoto City Ceramic Research Center was established for the purpose of increasing the competitive edge of Kyoto ware in and outside Japan. Elite ceramic engineers who graduated from industrial colleges in Tokyo and Osak,a such as Kawai Kanjirō (1890–1966), turned to researching on the latest ceramic technology of the day, from raw materials and glazes to high-pressure electric insulators and dental porcelain.

During World War II the ceramic industry was reorganized to produce large amounts of products to cater to the military industrial demand, thereby limiting the production of artistic works. However, as soon as the war ended artistic production resumed and various types of works were produced.

Despite the mainstream trend of the global, machine-made mass production of ceramics, Kyoto ware is still made by hand, and Kyoto continues to be a representative production site for Japanese ceramics.