Kutani Choemon

ABOUT KUTANI CHOEMON

Operating in a region where the various steps of pottery crafting are usually split among different studios, Choemon Kiln was among the first to bring the entire process together under one roof.

While continuing to further hone our skills each day, they also strive to take their potential to new heights by embracing diverse challenges, as seen in the collaboration with Spanish designer Jaime Hayon and the production of unique creations such as skull-shaped candy jars, one of which is part of the collection of the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.

Hanazume

In Hanazume (filled with flowers), the various flowers are drawn and covering the entire surface of the piece, which undergoes the first firing, then the flowers are outlined with gold paint before the final firing. The technique was said to be introduced by Shiro Mizuta in Kanazawa City during the Taishio period. The combination of colorful flowers and elegant gold leaf creates a gorgeous piece.

Kinsai

Yuri-kinsai (underglaze gold) is a technique to decorate with gold leaf, and then clear glaze is applied over it. The glossy texture of the glaze and the glittering gold leaf create a gorgeous look. To begin with, gold leaf is a very thin material that is difficult to handle. The work flawlessly decorated with a material like gold leaf reveals extraordinary skills of the artisan. 

Ginsai

Yuri-ginsai (underglaze silver) is a technique to decorate with silver leaf, and then clear glaze is applied over it. In contrast to glittering gold, which has a strong presence under the spotlight, gleaming silver exhibits graceful beauty. The silver allows itself to blend well with other colored glaze, creating elegant beauty. Silver usually turns black due to oxidation, which can be prevented with glazing, retaining the elegance of silver leaf for a long time.

Akae

Akae-saibyo literally means "fine painting in red." The technique of drawing multiple regular patterns with fine lines are absolutely incredible. The motif tightly drawn with lines and dots projects shades and depths. This beautiful Kutani technique has been fully passed through generations to this day. Many young artisans, including modern master craftsman Buzan Fukushima, have created marvelous works using this technique.

Aochibu / Shirochibu

Ao-chibu (green dots) features the strokes of small solid green dots densely drawn on the base color. The technique is said to become popular during the Taisho period (1912–1916). It is neither painting nor line drawing. The cluster of dots creates marvelous ripple-like patterns. It takes extraordinary skills to draw uniform, tiny dots while retaining the beauty of the cluster. There are color variations of ao-chibu: shiro-chibu (white dots) and kin-chibu (gold dots).

Yoshidaya

Yoshidaya Style, which is one of the most famous traditional style of Kutani ware. This style uses only 4 colors, yellow, green, dark blue and purple and never red. This technique was created by Yoshidaya Denemon in 1824. He was a wealthy man, famous for his disregard for profit and for the quality of his products. As a result, the design has been highly praised by many intellectuals, although it seems to have been very difficult for business.

Ko-Kutani

Ko-Kutani is the name given to Kutani ware that has been popular in the Kutani region since ancient times and has been passed down as a model for many Kutani ware designs. Especially Gosai-de (five-colored painting) is probably the most recognizable style of Kutani ware. This style features the beauty of nature such as flowers, birds, and the moon using Kutani gosai (five colors: green, yellow, purple, navy blue, and red).

Sometsuke

Sometsuke (dyeing) features the single color of indigo blue painting on white porcelain, which displays simple beauty and elegance. In sometsuke, a paint called gosu (black cobalt) is used to decorate the unglazed surface with patterns and motifs. It takes mastery skills to draw lines neatly on a rough unglazed surface. Considering that, painting the beauty of nature and patterns with a single paint gosu requires exceptional skills.

Atelier Yu

Their atelier is specialized in Kutani ware painting performed by female artisans. Their artisans work hard every day at the foot of the sacred Hakusan mountain surrounded by sounds of breeze of singing birds. While focusing on the traditional colors called Kutani gosai (five colors), they add the sweetness of women to our pottery, hoping to bring a smile to everyone who use it. Their "Cat in sunny spot" series is one of the most popular item.

Kutani Choemon Kiln

KEIGO KAMIDE / The 6th generation of Kutani Choemon Kiln
He aims to create universal and fresh expressions based on the history of Kiln, which began in the Orient, and to pass on Kutani ware to the present with flexible ideas that are not limited by tradition or boundaries. His products are very popular in Japan because of its traditional patterns arranged in a unique way.

Kinzan Kiln

Kinzan kiln was established in 1906 and has continued to produce Kutani ware for about 110 years. Among the traditional techniques of Kutani ware, the Kiln especially excels in kinsai, glaze painting with gold. In addition to the traditional techniques and innovative trials by artists, Kinzan kiln continues to create a new world of colorful Kutani ware by exploring various techniques and materials.

Kokuzou Kiln

Their atelier is located at the foot of the historic Kokuzoyama mountain in the traditional land of Kutani. They spare no effort in their work, paying great attention to every detail. Unlike manufactured products, our consistent process from handcrafting to selling allows us to make every single pottery vessel embraced by the warmth of the earth and the heart of the artisan.

Soukyu Kiln

Soukyu Kiln is a pottery of Kutani ware in Nomi city of Ishikawa prefecture. A Kiln artist Chie Sakurai and her husband produce these cute works in Soukyu Kiln. She inherited traditional Kutani Gosai (5 colors), Red, Yellow, Green, Purple, and Deep Blue and makes cute and unique design for modern lifestyle. Everyone cannot stop saying “How cute!” to the Kutani plates of Soukyu Kiln. Beautiful and cute tableware have got attention.

Kutani Hanasaka

“HANASAKA” is a brand of ceramics produced by Taniguchi Seidojo, which produces Kutani ware clay. The brand name “HANASAKA” is derived from “Hanasaka Pottery Stone” which is the raw material for Kutani ware. Currently, there are only a few mines where Hanasaka pottery stone can be quarried, and while Kutani ware is widely known, such a situation is hardly recognized.

Harekutani

Harekutani was born in 2017 with the desire to bring Kutani ware to life in a casual manner. Kutani ware from Ishikawa Prefecture, which has a history of over 300 years, is hand-painted by the artist with delicate patterns. The characteristic of this product is that it is made of a variety of materials. As one of Japan's representative "colored Kiln", it has the charm of a dignified feel that beautifully complements food.

Seikou Kiln

“Offer unique elegance of Kutani ware in reasonable price which is acceptable for market.”
Seikou kiln aims to make high quality Kutani ware available to as many people as possible at a reasonable price by combining silk printing and traditional handwriting techniques. They won many awards such as at “Charming Japanese Souvenir Contest” by Japan Tourism Agency or at “Gourmet & Dining Style Show.

Bizan Kiln

Bizan Kiln was established in the late Meiji period as a Kutani ware painting kiln. They have been a famous kiln that has continued to be loved by people by incorporating a sense of the times into their traditional style. Their works are painted based on the Kutani Gosai (five colors of Kutani), which has been handed down for 360 years, and the tradition matches the modern life, making it enjoyable to use.

The history of Kutani ware The art of kutani ware was established in 1655 in what is now a part of Kaga, Ishikawa. At the end of the 16th century, this region became the domain of the Maeda daimyo, who are celebrated to this day for their cultivation and celebration of cultural pursuits.
Maeda Toshiharu (1618-1660), the first lord of the Daishōji domain, decided to start porcelain production after the discovery of the stone used to make porcelain. Maeda Toshiharu ordered Gotō Saijirō to learn how to make porcelain, and Gotō built a kiln in Kutani village and started production. Later, this became known as Kutani ware.

Over time, the kiln that were established in this region would become a landmark of the region. However, for unknown reasons, the production of kutani ware suddenly ceased in 1730, and would disappear for nearly one hundred years. Kutani ware that was created during this original period of 1655 to roughly 1730 are known as ko-kutani (literally, old kutani). Some theories as to why the production of kutani ceramics stopped are that it was difficult to find certain pigments are materials that were necessary for production.
In addition, it is theorized that in the process of creating kutani ware producers may have faced financial difficulties. Because of this halt in production, kutani ware that were created using traditional production techniques from this period are exceptionally rare. In 1804, or possibly 1807, the production of kutani ware would see a revival, and a new wave of kutani production would commence that would continue to this day. This second phase of kutani production is known as Saiko-kutani (literally a renewed interest in the production of kutani ware.)

Quarrying

Kutani ware is made from porcelain stone that is mined in the Hanasaka area of Ishikawa prefecture’s Komatsu city. This Hanasaka porcelain was first discovered during the latter half of the Edo period. Hanasaka porcelain stone continues to play a vital role in the production of kutani ware to this day.

Turning porcelain stone into clay

Clay is created by first pulverizing porcelain stone, and then putting the compound through several processes. A characteristic of Hanasaka porcelain is it’s high iron-content, so created materials come out gray or often a deeper shade of white. It is also particularly sticky, which is often said to make it easier to form while on the potter's wheel. Through the efforts of recent clay-manufacturers, clay that is more suitable for casting is also being produced.

Molding

The picture depicts the process of molding clay using a potter's wheel. This is the process of forming lumps of clay that are being rotated on the pottery wheel. You can create sake drinking cups, tableware, and pots as well as many various other kinds of items.

Firing unglazed pottery

The picture depicts the process of molding clay using a potter's wheel. This is the process of forming lumps of clay that are being rotated on the potter's wheel. You can create sake drinking cups, tableware, and pots as well as many various other kinds of items.

Glazing

Glazing is the process of applying an enamel coating to an unglazed piece of pottery. This enamel is a liquid base that will cover your pottery. The process of glazing must be adjusted depending on the firing temperature as well as the quality of glass you are working with.

Firing the glazed pottery

Just as with unglazed clay, pottery used to be fired in a vertical kiln, but recently gas and electric kilns have become mainstream. The picture below once again shows a Miyayoshi ceramic. The enamel has been applied very precisely.
Glazed pottery must be heated at a higher temperature than unglazed pottery, so the kiln will burn at 1300 degrees Celsius this time. The firing time will be roughly 12 hours.

Final painting and decoration

To start draw outline and pattern lines on the already fired white porcelain with a type of material known as gosu. Kutani were originally decorated with black gosu and what is known as the *wucai style of colors. The piece has been decorated with gosu and red lines, so the 4 additional colors of the wucai style were adorned using a traditional Japanese writing utensil. It is important to be sure to not paint over any previous red lines. This is because overlapping with any previously painted red lines would render them invisible after the firing process.

Firing painted pottery. Final steps to completion

The process of firing will alter the color of light colored paint by making the colors more vibrant. The four colors of paint will have transformed to a more transparent glass, and the gosu lines under the glass will remain as faint patterns on the pottery. This transparent look of the enamel is one of the key characteristics of kutani ware.