Suzu Ware

Suzu wares were shipped from Fukui county along the Sea of Japan up to Hokkaido. During the fourteenth century the county of Suzu was one of four distribution zones and one of the leading ceramic production sites of the Japanese archipelago. Early Suzu ware was influenced by the styles created at Toban kilns of the Setouchi region and Tokoname and Atsumi kilns of the Tōkai region. It is thus believed that the production of Suzu ware began as a result of the introduction of the techniques used in these production sites. Most of Suzu county was part of Wakayamasō, the largest shōen (manor) on the Noto Peninsula, which was owned by a noble family. As the production period of Suzu ware generally overlapped with the period between the establishment and the decline of Wakayamasō, it has been speculated that pottery kilns were introduced to the area as a means of managing the manor.

Early Suzu ware was fired in tunnel-shaped anagama kilns built into hill slopes, which were fired at over 1,100 degrees. Upon extinguishing the fire, the furnace opening and the flue were sealed to starve the kiln of oxygen. Under this condition the iron contained in the clay would be reduced to a black color which then turned into a shade of bluish grey or greyish black after firing was done. 

Historically, the three main Suzu ware products were urns, pots for storage, and mortars used for food preparation. Very early Suzu mortars did not have ribbed interiors used for grinding, but by around the end of the twelfth century mortors began to have comb serrations or stamped markings, and by the middle of the thirteenth century straight-lined serrations had become a common feature.

Despite its once unchallenged market share, Suzu ceramics quickly fell into decline and finally discontinued in the latter half of the fifteenth century as a result of the intensifying competition with Echizen ware. The fact that Suzu failed to compete with the improved productivity at kilns in Echizen, Tokoname, and Bizen has been directly linked to the fact that kilns in these other regions adopted division of labor and enlarged kilns into their production. In addition, the decline in the power of the noble patrons that owned manors meant that Suzu ware lost its backing for production and distribution, and consequently struggled to maintain its competitiveness.

Over time Suzu was forgotten as a major pottery production area, though many surviving examples continued to be used as miso urns or pickle pots without being recognized as Suzu ware. In 1951 a teacher by the name of Wajima Shunji received a Suzu ware cinerary urn excavated by a student. He presented this in a folk history research journal stating that the urn possibly dated to the Muromachi period judging from the style of the associated tombstone. 

Ceramicist Nomura Kō (born 1949) presented his Suzu Earthenware Pot at the 1977 Japan Ceramic Art Exhibition, winning the Minister of Education Award. Around the same time, there were great opportunities for the revival of Suzu ware in Suzu itself as well. The return to Suzu of Nōmura Kō, who had gone on a municipal scholarship to train as a potter in Echizen, instigated the establishment of the Tōgei Jisshū Center (today called the Suzu City Pottery Center)  in 1978. 

In 2016, nearly four decades since the revival, there are now some forty Suzu ware potters, including those who own their own kilns and those who share common kilns. Nevertheless, reality remains harsh for these artists, as everything from the excavating of clays and securing of firewood to the developing of marketing outlet all rely on each potter’s own independent financial ability. Yet even under such circumstances, these potters continue to take on the challenge of producing Suzu ware through ongoing contemplations about the ceramic tradition and their own creative potential.