7. Yoshidaya Kiln (1824-1831)
Yoshidaya kiln was the shortest-lived among the various resurgent Kutani kilns that sprung up in Kaga one after another, closing after just seven years. It gained a reputation as being the kiln that produced "Kutani" and had already received a high reputation at the time. For this reason, items fired in the Yoshidaya kiln came to be called ``Kutani ware'' for the first time during the resurgent Kutani, and for this reason, Kutani ware fired in the Kutani old kiln and passed down through generations came to be called ``old Kutani.'' It is said.
``Ao Kutani'' was created by Gen'emon Aoya and his adopted son Seibei Honda, who were trained by Sadakichi Honda. The works of Yoshidaya kiln, in which calm paint is applied thickly to a blue-dark base, give a sense of calmness and sourness compared to Ko-Kutani, but the colors harmonize well with each other in terms of saturation and brightness. That seems to be the case.
Therefore, it is said that the paint from Yoshidaya kiln does not separate from the base material even after painting. Due to these material characteristics, the works of Yoshidaya kiln are so beautiful that they are said to be ``the epitome of craft beauty,'' and are a masterpiece of the late Edo period, which produced works that are worthy of artistic appreciation. It is regarded as a famous kiln that is widely known in Japan as one of the leading kilns, and many excellent products have been handed down from generation to generation.
The Aote Kokutani technique that was reproduced at the Yoshidaya kiln was later perfected at the Rendaiji kiln and then the Matsuyama kiln by Kikusaburo Matsuya (later Sahei Matsumoto), a student of Gen'emon. In this way, the Aote technique remains one of the important coloring methods (styles) for modern Kutani, and the Aote technique of the Yoshidaya kiln is generally known as the Yoshidaya style and has been passed down from generation to generation.