Six Ancient Kilns of Japan
Bizen, Okayama
Bizen ware has been made since the late Heian period, centred on Imbe in Bizen, Okayama Prefecture. It is fired hard over a long time with no painting and no glaze, and is prized for the "landscape" that clay and flame leave on its surface. Drawing on the official Six Ancient Kilns materials, this page outlines how Bizen ware developed and what sets its clay and firing apart, along with the Bizen-connected potters, exhibitions and shops that megu knows about.
Bizen ware is said to have begun in the late Heian period, when potters in Imbe started firing bowls, plates and roof tiles just as production was ending at the Oku kiln sites in Setouchi — once the largest centre of Sue stoneware in western Japan. Early pieces still showed strong Sue influence, and many were white or grey. By the middle of the Kamakura period Bizen ware had taken shape as its own tradition, reddish-brown wares appeared, and kilns grew larger to allow mass production.
In the Muromachi period the kilns at the foot of the mountains turned out grinding bowls and other wares in great quantity, and three great kilns — south, north and west — were later built. Large Bizen storage jars are found at sites across western Japan, especially mountain castles. Murata Juko recognised in Bizen's plainness the spirit of the tea ceremony, and by the Azuchi-Momoyama period it appeared in many records of tea gatherings.
In the Edo period, in 1636, Ikeda Mitsumasa, lord of the Okayama domain, provided fuel and raw materials and appointed master potters as official craftsmen. Kilns were consolidated into large shared kilns run by six potter families — Kimura, Mori, Tongu, Terami, Oae and Kaneshige. In 1831 the first multi-chamber climbing kilns in Bizen were introduced; the Tenpo kiln, part of whose original structure survives, is a designated building of Bizen City. In the modern era, styles such as the Momoyama-period manner revived by Kaneshige Toyo have also emerged.
Bizen ware is neither painted nor glazed, so the quality and composition of the clay show directly in the fired surface. Because it is fired for about two weeks at over 1,200°C, it is stronger than most other wares, and it has long been said that the fine roughness and tiny bubbles in its surface make sake taste mellower.
The clay is hiyose, a precious clay dug in the Imbe district. It is very plastic, rich in iron and relatively low in heat resistance, and is mixed with black clay from Osafune in Setouchi. The surrounding hills are made of rhyolite, where the red pine used for fuel grows well — another reason Bizen ware has endured.
Pieces are still fired one by one in traditional climbing kilns fuelled with split pine, so each comes out different, with a rich variety of "landscapes" known by names such as goma, sangiri, hidasuki and botamochi. When you pick up a piece, compare how these landscapes differ.
The Six Ancient Kilns of Japan (Nihon Rokkoyo) is the collective name for six representative pottery-producing areas whose production has continued from the medieval period to the present day: Echizen, Seto, Tokoname, Shigaraki, Tamba and Bizen. The name was coined around 1948 by the ceramics scholar Fujio Koyama, and in 2017 the six were recognised together as a Japan Heritage under the story "Kitto Koisuru Rokkoyo" (roughly, "You're sure to fall for the Six Ancient Kilns: pottery towns born and raised in Japan").
Of the six, only Seto made glazed ware; the other five are known for yakishime — unglazed stoneware fired hard at high temperatures.
18 people. Potters who have exhibited at a shop or gallery in Bizen, or whose profile mentions Bizen. This is not a complete list of the area's potters.
Sources
