Tanba Ware

The former province of Tanba extends across present day central Kyoto prefecture and into the eastern part of Hyogo prefecture. Tanba ware seems to have originated in the Kondachō Kamitachikui area of Sasayama (Hyogo), following the introduction of kiln firing techniques from the Tōkai region at the end of the Heian period (late 1100s). In Tōkai, these firing techniques were used for ceramics such as Tokoname ware (made in present day Aichi prefecture). From the early days until the Muromachi period (1392–1573), ceramics made in Tanba, as well as in other parts of Japan, consisted mostly of functional vessels such as jars, urns, and mortars. In the latter half of the Muromachi period and early Edo period (1500s–1600s), sake bottles and tea ceramics (as a result of the popularization of chanoyu, the Way of Tea) were added to this repertoire. From the early to mid Edo period (1600s–1700s), a type of slip called akadobe began being applied to Tanba ware to give it a vibrant reddish brown color. During the late Edo period (1800s), Tanba kilns started using "chestnut husk glaze" (kurikawa yū), a slip made from further-refined akadobe, and white slip. Throughout the Edo period (1615–1868), Tanba ware comprised mainly functional vessels for daily life, such as sake bottles, jars, and urns, which incorporated decorative techniques. After the start of the modern period, Tanba's functional wares caught the approving eye of Yanagi Sōetsu (also known as Yanagi Muneyoshi, 1889–1961) who founded the Folk Art or Mingei movement. The forms and decorative techniques of Tanba ware also inspired other Mingei-influenced potters such as Kawai Kanjirō (1890–1966), Hamada Shōji (1894–1978), and Bernard Leach (1887–1979). Today there are about 60 kilns producing Tamba ware. In addition to contemporary ceramic artists who make creative ceramic sculptures, there are also potters who focus on producing functional vessels for daily use.

While jars with small openings are believed to have been used for storing seed rice, coins, and other items, urns with wide mouths and bodies that narrow towards the base were used as containers for storing liquids such as water and oil. In many cases they were buried in the ground and were often discarded if broken. As a result, it is rare to find perfect examples of this type.

In the late 1500s, between the end of the Muromachi period and the Momoyama period (1573–1615), the popularity of wabi-cha tea and its pursuit of simplicity paved way for the development of the mizusashi (fresh water container), an implement used to hold cold water used to replenish the kettle. Originally wooden pails would have been used for such purpose, but Tanba potters responded to this new trends by reproducing these water pails in the medium of clay, resulting in "water bucket" (oke) shaped Tanba mizusashi. This example even reproduces the plaited bamboo ring that would have encircled such a wooden pail.

Called “ship sake bottles,” these large flasks were made with wider bases to ensure upright stability during marine transport. Akadobe slip, which is rich in iron, was applied to the bottles, which were then fired to turn them a vibrant reddish brown. The slip was thought originally to have been applied to seal small gaps on order to prevent the sake from leaching out, but this functional aspect may later have been overshadowed by aesthetic considerations.

This sake bottle was made by being entirely covered with "chestnut husk glaze" (kurikawa yū)— so called because the final finish resembles the shiny brown hulls that cover chestnuts. The angular body and sharp edges make this bottle appear almost metallic in form, but it is surprisingly light in the hand. A seal with the characters "Ichifusa" can be seen impressed into the underside of the base. High-end ceramics with seals such as this emerged during the nineteenth century, in the late Edo period.

The characters “Nonoguchi Shuten” (Nonoguchi Sake Shop) are written on this sake bottle. Customers would purchase sake in individual bottles inscribed with the names of the shop; they could then bring the bottles back for refills. This type of sake bottle with the shop or location name written on them were commonly known as kayoi tokkuri (literally, "commuting sake bottles") because they were brought back and forth between sake shops and homes. They were mass produced from the late Edo period (1800s) up to around the 1930s, in the Shōwa period.

The sides of this rectangular dish rise up vertically, and a cuboid foot is attached at an angle to the underside at each of the four corners. Though this dish is not in itself an example of Tanba ware, its form is copied after a Tanba ware square dish collected by Yanagi Muneyoshi (1889–1961) (now in the collection of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum in Tokyo). Like his colleagues Hamada Shōji (1894–1978) and Kawai Kanjirō (1890–1966) , Yanagi Muneyoshi called the crafts created by unknown artisans for the daily use of commoners Mingei (folk crafts) and appreciated their simple beauty.

Ichino Shigeyoshi (1942—2011) was born into the family running the Tansō kiln in Tanba’s Tachikui area. After Bernard Leech stayed at the kiln during his visit to Tanba, Ichino was invited to go to England in 1969 to make pottery at Leech’s workshop in St. Ives. He stayed there until 1973. This square dish was made by applying lines in white, black, and blue slip and scratching with a comb-shaped tool. This is an example of fusion between Tanba ware and English slipware.