Kutani Kilns
1, Kutani Old Kiln (1655-1710)
In the Kaga domain, successive feudal lords had a strong interest in arts and crafts, and incorporated the cultivation of Kaga's unique culture into the domain's governance. In addition, the third lord of the domain, Toshitsune Maeda (1593-1658), had an admiration for Chinese ceramics, and in 1637, through the domain's branch offices established in Hizen Hirado and Nagasaki, he began producing celadon and antique dyed tea utensils. He devoted himself to collecting colored ceramics such as Gosu Aka-e and Nanjing Aka-e, as well as Shozui, etc., and finally, his passion for collecting became so strong that he was encouraged to produce porcelain in Kutani village of the Daishoji domain in Kaga Prefecture. will be done.
In this way, in the early Edo period, Ko Kutani porcelain, with its uniquely extravagant and gorgeous paintings, was born from the Kutani kiln in the cultural sphere of the Kaga domain.
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The Suisaka kiln is said to have been located in Suisaka Village, Enuma District (currently a hilly area about 2 kilometers northeast of Daishoji, Suisaka Town, Kaga City). There are many things that are unknown about this kiln, and it will be necessary to investigate them in the future.
3. Kasugayama kiln (1807-1820)
Kasugayama Kiln is based on the latest porcelain technology brought to Kaga, more than 100 years after the Kutani Old Kiln was closed, by Mokube Aoki and assistant craftsman Sadakichi Honda, who were invited from Kyoto. This kiln was established by the Kaga domain with the intention of promoting industry. With the opening of this kiln, the momentum for porcelain production spread to the Kaga domain, and the copy of the Gosu akae from this kiln had an influence on the subsequent development of ``Kaga akae.''
Even after Aoki Mokubei returned to Kyoto, Honda Sadakichi remained at the Kasugayama kiln and continued making pottery. When he learned that porcelain production was gaining momentum in Kaga, he used his experience to mass-produce porcelain. We searched for the abundant and high quality pottery stone needed for this purpose. Finally, Sadakichi found it in Mt. Rokubei, Hanasaka Village, Nomi District, and decided to produce porcelain nearby.
Sadakichi received an invitation from Hayashi Hachibei, who was baking tiles in Wakasugi Village, and decided to build a main kiln there. This Wakasugi kiln was the first to mass-produce porcelain in Kaga, and became a pillar of the Kaga clan's industrial development, and Hanasaka pottery stone is still an important raw material used to make the base for Kutani ware. It has become. Sadakichi's achievements were great, and he started establishing many kilns one after another.
Naturally, the Wakasugi Kiln began to attract the potters needed for mass production from both inside and outside the domain, and began pursuing the creation of a factory in Kaga to produce colored porcelain, which had not been able to produce wood grains. Therefore, in addition to dyed porcelain, you can see various styles of colored porcelain in his works.
We were also able to produce colored porcelain that was very similar to the Yoshidaya kiln. This can be said to be because Sadakichi had the foresight to discover the abilities of Gen'emon Aoya, who was still in his late teens, and entrusted Gen'emon with research into glazes.
Furthermore, from among the many potters who were active at this Wakasugi kiln, potters who were active in the various kilns of the revived Kutani that followed Wakasugi kiln were produced, and they brought the pottery skills they cultivated here to each kiln. I was active in Rokuemon Yabu, who opened the Ono kiln, Isaburo Saita, who opened the Sano kiln, Kikusaburo Matsuya, who opened the Rendaiji kiln, Shozo Kutani, who opened the Nishiki kiln in Terai, and Takichi Yamamoto, who founded a kiln in Hanita. That was the case.
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Ono kiln was started in 1819 in Ono Village, Nomi District (now Ono Town, Komatsu City) by Rokuemon Yabu, who left Wakasugi Kiln after Sadakichi's death. Rokuemon learned pottery from Honda Sadakichi at Wakasugi Kiln.
He began making pottery using clay from Hanita, Yawata, and Motoe in nearby villages, but it is said that he was unable to make a good base. In 1822, with the help of the county magistrate, the business gradually got on track, and in 1830, high-quality pottery stone was discovered in Nabetani Village, the same county, and efforts were made to improve the pottery. We are now able to produce quality products. Thus, during the Tenpo era, the master craftsman of the time was hired as the main craftsman for customers, and it reached its peak.
In 1831, Gen'emon Aoya served as the main builder for the customers, making full use of his skills and experience to develop the kiln. In 1832, Shoshichi (Shoza Kutani's childhood name) moved from Wakasugi Kiln at the request of Rokuemon Yabu of Ono Village. It is said that with the addition of Shoshichi, many fine products began to be produced. It is also said that around the 6th year of Tenpo, Isaburo Saita often visited the Ono kiln from a neighboring village and assisted in the operation of the kiln, as well as in making the base and improving the overglaze techniques. For a short period of time, Kikusaburo Matsuya, who had returned to his hometown after training in Kyoto, also participated, and the kiln became popular.
However, as the main painters for customers were replaced, the kiln gradually lost its momentum, and in 1841, by order of the domain, Zendayu Sakano, the Tomura Yaku of Ichinori Village, took over the management and established the domain kiln ``Onoyama Pottery Works''. The company continued to develop sales channels for senior retainers of the domain and gifts, but in 1847, when Gen'emon left for Rendaiji Kiln, the kiln became a supplier of raw materials to the surrounding area. It is said that Zendayu, who had devoted himself to the management of this kiln for over 20 years, resigned, and in 1869, Rokuemon Yabu took over again, but in 1872, when Rokuemon passed away, the kiln was abandoned.
Minzan kiln is established in Kanazawa in 1822 by Shuhei Takeda, a samurai of the Kaga clan. Shuhei, who loved arts and crafts, regretted that even after Aoki Mokubei returned to Kyoto, the Kasugayama kiln continued to make Gosu Akae, a favorite of Mokubei, and dyed everyday items, but it eventually closed down. It is said that he decided to revive the Kasugayama kiln. Three years later, Den'emon Yoshidaya saw the heirlooms of Ko-Kutani and came to the idea of revitalizing the pottery industry.It can be said that the passion with which a feudal samurai founded the pottery industry was considerable. .
It is not clear whether the main kiln was a reconstruction of the main kiln at Kasugayama Kiln or whether it was newly built by Shuhei himself in Kasugayama, but several Nishikigama kilns were built at his residence in Satomi-cho, Kanazawa. Shuhei thought carefully about the types of ware, had a large number of craftsmen and apprentices, and produced a large amount of ware during the Tenpo period (1830-1843), and his products were sold widely. Works made in this kiln have also been found among the relics of the Kaga domain residence in Edo.
However, when Shuhei passed away in 1844, the kiln ceased to exist.
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.
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8. Miyamotoya Kiln (1832-1859)
The style of Kutani ware, like Aote, is called Akae Kinrande, which has a different taste from Iroe porcelain, and has red color all over the surface. Miyamotoya kiln has mastered this style. In the late Edo period, the name of Iidaya Hachiroemon, who created the red-painted porcelain produced using a single red pigment, was created in this kiln on a par with Yoshidaya kiln's ``Ao Kutani''. It was praised as ``Hachirote'' or ``Aka Kutani.'' The main reason for this is said to be that the red pigment used in the red elaboration of the Miyamotoya kiln was unique, and its color was outstanding and popular.
Among the revived Kutani works, there are the Gosu red paintings of the Kasugayama kiln by Aoki Mokube, the Imari-style colored paintings of the Wakasugi kiln by Yujiro Mita, the gilded red paintings of the Minzan kiln, and the fine red paintings of the Ono kiln by Shozo Kutani. Kaze iroe and other works were the forerunners of Kaga akae, but because they all mixed complementary colors, they were classified as iroe, and the akae gold brocade used in Kutani ware was completed at the Miyamotoya kiln.
From the Kaei and Ansei era to the early Meiji period, the red-painted gold brocades of the Miyamotoya kiln quickly spread throughout the Kaga area. It is said that it was so strong that it reminded people that it was a ``Red Kutani.'' Therefore, it was only natural that this style had a great influence on later Kutani ware. For example, Shozo learned akae from Miyamotoya Kiln Rihachi (a son of Uemon, and is said to have been involved in the management of the kiln from the beginning) and utilized it in his works, and Kazutoshi Asai learned the technique from Hachiroemon in his later years. He learned about this method of depiction, and together with Ginju Takeuchi, he incorporated that method into his works. For this reason, it is said that the origin of the Akae Kinsai coloring in Meiji Kutani was the ``Aka Kutani'' of the Miyamotoya kiln.
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Sano Kiln was opened in Sano Village (Sano-cho, Nomi City) by Isaburo Saida (Dokai Saida was his pseudonym in later years) in the 6th year of Tenpo. Isaburo originally excelled in the skill of overglazing, and took a leading role in the various kilns in the resurgent Kutani region. After he built this kiln, he developed the technique of twice-firing gold-colored paintings and devised the ``Sano Akae'' miniature painting. The design became representative of Nomi Kutani and Kanazawa Kutani, and the Isaburo-style Sano Akae was highly praised as an export item during the Meiji period.
In addition, Isaburo used this kiln as an overglaze kiln, and in later years encouraged potters to build a base kiln (main kiln) independent of this kiln, a method of porcelain production that separated the base making and overglaze processes. He created this. In Sano Village, the villagers began producing and selling porcelain, something they had never been involved with before, leading to an increase in rural jobs. This division of labor, with Sano Kiln at the center, supported the pottery industry in Sano Village as a whole, so this kiln and Isaburo played a pioneering role in the Kutani industry in Sano Village, and their achievements in laying the foundation for Sano Kutani were significant. It can be said that Isaburo established the Sano Akae technique that has been passed down to this day, nurtured many potters, and created jobs in Sano Village, so this award was given to him, and in 1903, Isaburo placed his pottery at Kutani Toso Shrine. He is now worshiped as his ancestor.
10. Workshop by Shoza Kutani (1841-1883)
Shoza Kutani (1816-1883) opened a workshop in Terai Village, Nomi District in 1841, and did not have a kiln for hon-yaki, so he used materials purchased from Ono Kiln and other places. He specialized in painting. In order to meet various demands, he ran a workshop employing between 200 and 300 craftsmen, and produced large quantities of Kutani ware called ``Shoza Style'' using a production system based on division of labor.
Indispensable to this mass production method were the pottery merchants who sold the products. They not only sold, but also conveyed the requests of customers from both Japan and abroad to potteries and studios specializing in paintings, and began to take on the responsibility of planning and selling new products. At the same time, the number of potteries that were able to produce large quantities of high-quality pottery to meet various demands increased, and Shoza's workshop laid the foundation for the Kutani industry, where porcelain was produced mainly through workshops. It is.
At that time, it is not certain that all of the kilns in the resurgent Kutani were kilns that were run as systematically as Yoshidaya kiln, but Wakasugi kiln and Ono kiln had a main kiln and a nishiki kiln, and were involved in everything from making the base to making the base. It seems that they even produced and sold products. However, in order to produce and sell in large quantities under the Kaga Domain's industrial promotion policy, it is thought that the production method developed by Shoza and others was necessary. Therefore, this production method centered on workshops spread to the neighboring village of Sano (Sano Kutani by Isaburo Saita), and greatly contributed to supporting Kutani industry in the Meiji period in the Nomi region.
The Kutani industry in the Kaga region, which flourished in earnest during the Meiji period, actively responded to demand from Europe and the United States under a system in which workshop managers, pottery merchants, pottery makers, and others cooperated. did. In particular, Kutani ware with elaborate overpaintings in the ``Shoza style,'' which became the core of Kutani exports, was favored by foreign countries as a trade item in the early Meiji period. This Kutani ware was called "Japan Kutani," and its contribution was significant as it played a role in supporting Japan's major export industry.
However, after Shoza passed away in 1883 at the age of 68, there was no one left to manage his disciples, who numbered more than 300, and some of them became independent or established other workshops. It is said that this workshop disappeared as some people moved to other areas.
11. Rendaiji Kiln (1847 - 1865)
It is said that when Kikusaburo Matsuya was 13 years old, he studied pottery making under Gen'emon Aoya, and was greatly influenced by his training. After that, Kikusaburo returned to his hometown after gaining training and experience in various places, and took over the kiln in Rendaiji Village, Nomi District (now Rendaiji Town, Komatsu City), where Gen'emon had produced porcelain and pottery. We rebuilt it as the Rendaiji kiln and worked on recreating the Aote Ko Kutani, which had disappeared since the Yoshidaya kiln closed.
At that time, the various kilns in the revived Kutani kiln were either red painted, which was less likely to fail, or colored painted, such as the Yoshidaya kiln, where the overlay glaze adhered well and there was no worry about the glaze coming off after firing. It is said that the reason why Aote Ko Kutani was not reproduced was because it was difficult to paint with five colors on white porcelain. Through many years of research and experience, Kikusaburo solved this difficult problem with painting, and in this kiln succeeded in producing the first piece of white porcelain decorated with five colors since Kokutani.
However, although the Rendaiji kiln succeeded in perfecting the Gosai-style porcelain, it was unable to compete with the red-glazed Sano kiln and Shoza-style products in Nomi County, and it did not succeed as a business. Although the kiln was closed, it can be said that he made a great contribution in leading the revitalization of Aote Kokutani in Nomi District.
The lineage of Aote Ko Kutani in the revival of Kutani was passed on from Gen'emon to Kikusaburo, from Rendaiji kiln to Matsuyama kiln, and then in 1868, Matsumoto Kikusaburo (who changed his name from Matsuya) inherited the Yawata kiln. He passed it on to his son, Sahei Matsumoto, and retired, but the flow of ``Ao Kutani'' was inherited by Sahei, and was further linked to Sahei's brother-in-law, the first Yasokichi Tokuda, who created the *glazed porcelain of Yasokichi Tokuda, the third generation. It was decided to develop.
*Colored glaze porcelain is distinguished from colored porcelain, which is usually fired with colored glaze at low heat (800 degrees) in a painted kiln, and colored porcelain is fired with colored glaze on the base material at 1200 degrees in a main firing kiln. It refers to things. There is a natural difference in the finished product, with colored glazed porcelain having greater clarity and depth.
The third generation, Yasokichi Tokuda, who invented this colored glazed porcelain, has been designated as an Important Intangible Cultural Property (Living National Treasure).
12. Matsuyama Kiln (1848-1872)
The Matsuyama kiln was founded in 1848 by the Daishoji clan in Matsuyama Village, Enuma District (present-day Matsuyama Town, Kaga City) under orders from Hikozaemon Yamamoto. Kikusaburo Matsuya, Gen'emon Aoya, and others who had been working on recreating Aote Ko Kutani at Rendaiji Kiln in Komatsu since the previous year were invited to this kiln. The base material was made using pottery clay from areas within the domain such as Kutani Village, Susaka Village, and Tetsushi Village, and works of the old Kutani Aote style were mainly made as gifts for the domain.
Excavations of the kiln ruins in 1982 and 1981 revealed two climbing kilns, one flat kiln, one colored kiln, their foundations and baked clay, one workshop ruins, three potter's wheels in the workshop, and Two sites were excavated. Among the artifacts from the Edo period, porcelain such as dyed porcelain, white porcelain, and celadon porcelain, colored paintings, ceramics, and unglazed porcelain were unearthed.
The Daishoji domain started producing Ao-Kutani because while Aka-e flourished in the Kaga area from the latter half of the Edo period to the end of the Edo period, blue-colored porcelain like Aote Ko Kutani and Yoshidaya kiln Aote gradually stopped being fired. I started by trying to reproduce it. For this reason, it is said that at the time, the people of Matsuyama village called this kiln ``Matsuyama Gojo kiln'' (meaning a kiln directly managed by the feudal lord).
However, when Gen'emon passed away in 1863, Kikusaburo was forced to devote himself to the management of the Rendaiji kiln, and the Daishoji clan also acquired Kutanihon kiln (Miyamotoya kiln) in Yamashiro and established it. The protection of the Matsuyama kiln was stopped in order to concentrate financial support on the Eiraku kiln (also called the Eiraku kiln). For these reasons, the Matsuyama kiln was transferred to private management and is said to have been continued by Naoaki Kinoshita and others until around 1872.
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13. Kutanihon Kiln （Eiraku Kiln）(1860-1870)
Kutanihon kiln was founded in 1860, when the Daishoji domain, thinking of restoring Kutani ware and promoting the industry, decided to put the Miyamotoya kiln, which had been at an impasse, under direct management of the domain. This kiln was established after being acquired by Chikuken Tsukatani and Ichigo Asai. Management was given to Bunjiro Mito of Yamashiro Village, Enuma District (present-day Yamashiro Onsen, Kaga City), and Yasoshige Fujikake a feudal official.
In order to develop the domain's economy, the domain drew on the development of the Kutani ware industry in Nomi District through the development of Kutani ware kilns, and created creative products such as those seen at Yoshidaya kilns and Miyamotoya kilns. It is thought that there was a policy intention to make Kutani ware the center of industrial development by focusing on the climate and the skilled craftsmen that were cultivated there. That is why we named the kiln Kutanihon kiln, meaning the origin of Kutani ware.
At first, the kiln's management was not good, and this put pressure on the domain's finances, which is thought to have been one of the reasons why they were forced to stop supporting the Matsuyama kiln around 1863. On the other hand, in order to improve the management of this kiln, Bunjiro and Yasoshi arranged with Manki Kizaki of Kizaki Kiln to seek guidance from Wazen Eiraku, Manki's master and a master craftsman from Kyoto. In order to look up to him, he proposed to the lord of the domain that he invite Wazen. This was recognized, and in 1865, Wazen, accompanied by his brother-in-law Sozaburo Nishimura, came to the Kutanihon Kiln in Yamashiro.
During the three-year period of his contract, Eiraku improved the base material and produced works with ingenious shapes and drawings, many of which came to occupy a position as excellent examples of Kaga ceramics. He did. For this reason, this kiln came to be called "Eiraku kiln" rather than Kutanihon kiln.
However, although Wazen was an excellent writer, he was unable to turn Kutanihon Kiln into a production factory until three years passed. The domain lacked high-quality pottery stone and lacked the foundation to develop and expand its pottery industry, and it was also unable to compete with the products produced in large quantities in Nomi District. Furthermore, due to reforms in the feudal government, funding for this kiln was cut off. The previous managers, Bunjiro and Yasoshiro, took over the business once again, but in 1888, it became difficult to maintain the kiln, and the kiln was finally closed.
However, the following year, this kiln was transferred to Asa Tsukatani and Juraku Okura and restarted as the private Kutanihon kiln.