Yukasai 釉下彩
釉 glaze · 下 below · 彩 color
Also known as underglaze decoration
Yukasai (underglaze decoration) is a broad family of techniques in which a design is applied to the body and then covered with a transparent glaze before firing, so the decoration is sealed beneath the glaze. Protected by the glaze, the pattern resists wear and takes on a soft, deep quality. Sometsuke (blue-and-white), iron painting, copper-red yuriko, inlay, and the foil techniques yuri kinsai and yuri ginsai all belong to this family. It is the counterpart to overglaze decoration, where color sits on top of the fired glaze.
Because the design lives under the glaze, yukasai surfaces feel smooth to the touch and the pattern reads with a gentle depth, as if seen through a thin layer of glass — the quality behind the familiar calm of blue-and-white porcelain.
