keshiki 景色

Keshiki (literally 'scenery') is a Japanese way of appreciating ceramics that finds beauty in the expressions a piece acquires during firing—the way molten glaze flows down the surface, scorch marks from the flames, the character of ash glaze, and the varied 'flavor' of the clay body. Because wood-kiln firing depends on uncontrollable chance, no two pieces fire alike, and these accidental effects are prized as the individuality of the work. The sensibility extends even to cracks and old repairs: famed tea wares are admired for their large cracks, reflecting a Japanese taste—distinct from the Chinese ideal of flawless, uniform refinement—that sees flowing natural glaze and imperfection as 'scenery' to be read like a landscape.

In Raku firing, keshiki appears as an interplay of reds, browns, greys, and blacks shaped by flame rather than design. In kintsugi, the repaired parts are called keshiki; when beautifully done, they can increase an item's value beyond that of an unbroken piece.