Kilns and Firing

Once shaped, clay is hardened by fire into a durable vessel. In the process, components contained in glazes, clay bodies, and ash, depending on the temperature within the kiln, produce the flow of flame, and the amount of oxygen, colors and textures that are at times unexpected. The moment when a transformation arises that surpasses the maker’s imagination—this is something that continues to captivate the maker.

Today, Tamba ware potters select from multiple firing methods—wood-fired kilns (Anagama and Climbing Kilns), gas kilns, oil-fired kilns, and electric kilns—choosing according to their own philosophy or what best suits each individual work. The same is true of glazing techniques: there is unglazed yakishime ware; pieces that make use of natural ash glaze, formed as ash falls and adheres during firing; and works by employing artificial glazes, in which the potter personally blends ash and minerals.

Whatever the method, within the act of “facing the kiln and firing,” the maker continues to wait for a moment that exceeds imagination. That heart, akin to a wish, will no doubt remain unchanged into the future.

Fusion / Seven Transformations

In the world of antiques and fine art, a saying has long been passed down: “If you don’t know what it is, call it Tamba.” This reflects the remarkable diversity of Tamba ware—rustic, unglazed utilitarian vessels; tricky, highly technical forms; and pieces adorned with splendid painted decoration. There is a freedom and a certain chaos that seem to resist any simple definition of what “Tamba ware” is. Today, this protean quality is sometimes described as “Tamba’s Seven Transformations.” Behind it lies the flexibility of Tamba’s potters, who have eagerly embraced “new things” flowing in from the outside world with abundant curiosity.

Inheriting the lineage of earlier practitioners, we present works by contemporary potters who have embraced outside influences and opened new horizons of expression.
These include encounters between the traditional Japanese technique of tsutsugaki (slip-trailed decoration) and slipware developed in Britain; the fusion of ceramics with zōgan (inlay), said to have originated in the ancient Orient and reached Japan via the Silk Road; and the adaptation of kiriko cutwork, originally a glasscraft technique, into clay.
We invite you to experience the expanding possibilities of “fusion” that emerge when disparate elements come together.

Animal Ergonomics ×

Ergonomics is the discipline of designing tools, furniture, and environments so people can use them naturally—without strain on the body. In recent years, that way of thinking has been extended to animals as well, sparking new efforts to raise their quality of life.

For example, this pet food bowl by Tadashi Matsumoto of MATSU-GAMA was designed to make eating easier for dogs and cats. Its tall, stemmed form helps food pass more smoothly through the esophagus than bowls placed low on the floor. The color choice matters, too: yellow is widely considered the easiest for dogs and cats to recognize. Wheel-thrown one by one, its gentle presence becomes part of the scenery of a home.

Slipware ×

Tsutsugaki, a technique that flourished in Tamba during the Edo period, involves drawing patterns on the clay surface using slip. A closely related technique is slipware.
While slipware has existed in various parts of the world since ancient times, its rich diversity of expression came into full bloom after the medieval period, alongside the development of ceramic techniques in Britain.

Slipware later faded as mass-produced goods spread, but it was rediscovered through Japan’s Mingei (folk craft) movement, led by figures such as Muneyoshi Yanagi and Shōji Hamada. The British potter Bernard Leach—close to Yanagi and his circle—took up slipware himself and introduced its techniques to ceramic regions across Japan.

TANSO-GAMA was among the workshops shaped by that influence. An exchange with the Leach Pottery in England, begun in the era of the 6th-generation Tanso, was carried forward by the 7th-generation Shigeyoshi and the 8th-generation Shigeko—continuing to share a worldview where the craft beauty of Tamba and Britain interweave.

Zōgan (Inlay) ×

Zōgan (inlay) is a technique in which materials such as metal, ceramics, or wood are inlaid with other materials to create decorative patterns. It is said to have originated in the ancient Orient and to have reached Japan during the Nara period via the Silk Road.

Potters Tetsuji Ichino of ICHINO SATORU-GAMA and Yuki Ogami of SHOYO-GAMA are two artisans who have embraced the art of Zogan in their ceramics. Ichino carves freehand grooves into the surface of his jars, filling the revealed geometric patterns with his own unique blends of colored clay. The lines, finished with a white slip, bring an organic rhythm to each piece, vividly evoking the diverse cultural beauty that Zogan has encountered on its long journey.

On the other hand, Ogami fuses Zogan with the traditional Tamba technique of Shinogi (carving). He creates a new realm of formal possibilities by partially embedding the carved clay fragments back into the surface, applying a white slip for firing, and then adding black pigment afterward. While both artisans share the common foundation of Zogan, they have cultivated two entirely distinct creative worlds.

Kiriko (Cut Glass) ×

“Kiriko” is Japan’s distinctive cut-glass tradition, where patterns are revealed by grinding the surface with polishing tools. Famous examples include Edo Kiriko from Tokyo and Satsuma Kiriko from Kagoshima, both of which began to flourish in the late Edo period.

A different kind of luster—more earthen, more shadowed—appears in the works of Hiroaki Ichino of HIGASHIYAMA-KOBO. In pursuit of pottery that could “sparkle as light scatters,” he experimented until his forms unexpectedly echoed kiriko. By carving fine facets into the shaped clay, then glazing and firing, he draws out a refined, luminous expression.

Kakiotoshi (Sgraffito) ×

Kakiotoshi is a technique in which a layer of slip is applied to the clay body and then scraped away along a design, letting the pattern emerge. Sometimes two layers of slip are used, creating striking depth and color contrast in the carved motif. The method is seen often in ceramics from China’s Northern Song dynasty; in Japan, “Nezumi Shino” ware fired in Mino during the Momoyama period is a well-known example.

Today, Haruna Nishihata of SUEHARU-GAMA and Nobuyuki Ichino of ICHINO NOBUYUKI-GAMA both incorporate kakiotoshi into their work. Using the same technique, each arrives at a completely different world—because color choices and motifs carry the maker’s individual sensibility.

Shinogi ×

That the beauty of Tamba ware was “discovered” by Mingei masters such as Muneyoshi Yanagi, Kanjiro Kawai, and Shōji Hamada—from prewar through postwar years—set a new current in motion: many folk-craft makers began visiting Tamba, bringing fresh air to the village. In 1959, Kazutaka Ikuta, trained under Kanjiro Kawai in Kyoto, moved here and built a kiln. Toshihiko Shimizu of TOSHIHIKO-GAMA became Ikuta’s very first apprentice.

Toshihiko Shimizu, who trained under Kazutaka Ikuta for thirteen years, inherited among other things the technique of shinogi—carving evenly spaced grooves to raise ridgelines. Though shinogi can be seen on late-Edo “kasa-tokkuri” (umbrella flasks), Ikuta drew inspiration from Southeast Asian antiques and, together with Shimizu, re-examined the technique. From that meeting of lineages, a new style of everyday ware emerged.

Red

“Akadobe,” a symbol of early-modern Tamba ware, emerged with the introduction of the climbing kiln. Its singular red beauty captivates. Yet Akadobe was produced only for a brief span in the early Edo period before vanishing—leaving unanswered questions: why did it disappear, and how exactly did potters achieve that red? The mystery remains.
Chasing this enigmatic red, contemporary potters propose many approaches: some use red pigments; some employ “shinsha” (cinnabar) glazes; and some attempt to revive older techniques, such as recreating a Heian-period practice of applying urushi lacquer to ceramic surfaces. These works trace many routes toward a red that history left unresolved.

White

“Shiro-Tamba,” created in the late Edo period amid a longing for porcelain, offers a graceful elegance unlike earlier Tamba ware. A warm white is born when white slip—made from white clay—is applied to the body and fired. With Shiro-Tamba’s arrival, painted vessels popular in Arita ware and Kyo ware also began to be produced in Tamba.
Where that white clay was once sourced in Tamba is no longer clear. Today, potters pursue their own whites using other white clays and glazes. Please enjoy the many variations—each maker’s white.

Black

A deep, lustrous black—evoking Tamba’s famed black soybeans. Classic examples used “Ishiguro” glaze, made by crushing black stone rich in manganese. As reproducing Ishiguro glaze has grown difficult, today’s potters continue to experiment: blending their own iron glazes, coating vessels in black slip before firing, or challenging “carbonization firing,” where oxygen is cut off during firing.
From glossy black to matte black, each black carries its own voice.

Once the vessels have been shaped and glazed and carefully loaded into the narrow kiln chamber, the potters offer prayers at the household shrine, and a firing that may last for dozens of hours begins. As they confront the flames, probing the changes unfolding within the kiln, we invite you to observe the potters at work.

Filming cooperation: ICHINO DENICHI-GAMA / Hiromichi Ichino, and COCOCHIYA / Koh Ichino
Filmed by Hibiki Miyazawa

Day after day, potters knead clay, turn the wheel, and add decorative elements to their works. A rhythm ingrained in their bodies gives form, one after another, to what was once merely a lump of earth. Here, making is part of daily life.

Filming cooperation: TOSHIHIKO-GAMA / Toshihiko Shimizu
Filmed by Hibiki Miyazawa

Tachikui is a settlement in a narrow valley between mountains to east and west. The view of Mt. Kokuzo—long associated with Prince Shotoku—fills people’s hearts as it shifts in character with the seasons. This landscape may well be the wellspring of the aesthetic sensibility that has sustained Tamba ware across generations.

Filmed by Hibiki Miyazawa

Freshly fired vessels wait to be removed from the kiln. An array of tools reveals the individuality of each potter. Here, a way of life unchanged for centuries endures. We invite you to encounter the presence of potters who engage with earth and fire—forces of nature—through their own physical labor.

Supported by: ICHINO DENICHI-GAMA / Hiromichi Ichino, and COCOCHIYA / Koh Ichino

Sanbon-toge

Regarded as one birthplace of Tamba ware, “Sanbon-toge” lies near the border where Settsu, Harima, and Tamba once met. In the late Heian period, a tunnel-like anagama kiln was built into these mountain slopes. Surveys of the Sanbon-toge North Kiln Site—one of Tamba’s oldest kiln remains—have revealed a kiln about 14 meters long and roughly 2.2 meters wide. In anagama firing, pieces placed close to the flames receive heavy deposits of wood ash. When that ash melts in the heat and turns into a green, glassy layer on the surface, it is called a natural ash glaze (shizen-yū). This is one hallmark of Tamba ware from the anagama era.

A 1977 investigation of the haibara—dump areas where charcoal, ash, and misfired shards accumulate at archaeological sites—turned up fragments such as jars reminiscent of 13th-century Tokoname ware, as well as incised pieces bearing motifs like chrysanthemum patterns. In contrast to those signs of outside influence, the study also revealed a distinctly Tamba approach in suribachi (mortars): rather than using a comb-like tool to make grooves, potters carved lines one by one with a spatula. That method continued for roughly four hundred years, until the Edo period.

Tsutsugaki

From the late Edo period through the Meiji and Taishō eras, Tamba produced many “kayoitokkuri” (returnable sake flasks) used to transport sake and soy sauce. Also known as “binbō-tokkuri” (poor man’s flasks), these containers often bore brand names or shop crests written using the tsutsugaki technique. With a tool made from a bamboo tube—fitted with a fine bamboo tip—thin lines of slip are flowed onto the surface to draw letters and images. The displayed flask was excavated from the Sasayama castle town. Guiding a bamboo tool to write on a curved vessel would have required skill, and even these everyday wares carry the quiet virtuosity of Tamba potters.

Uki-tokkuri (Floating Sake Flask)

Tamba ware has long responded to the wishes of its users. A vivid expression of that character is the “uki-tokkuri” (floating sake flask), made in large numbers from the late Edo period onward. Designed to warm sake and be served directly at the table, it was thinly made—a form seen only in this era. Filled to about seventy percent and set in hot water, the flask floats upright, bobbing gently. Uki-tokkuri were made across Japan, but Tamba ware is said to have circulated in particularly large quantities—perhaps because busy restaurants and inns found them practical for warming many flasks at once. The smooth curve created by the swelling body and narrowed waist rests comfortably in the hand.

Akadobe

“Akadobe” displays a spectrum of reds—from purplish red-brown and deep russet to brilliant scarlet. It is said to have begun with the introduction of the climbing kiln, under influences from centers such as Bizen, and has become an emblem of early-modern Tamba ware. Here, “tobe” refers to slip: the surface is coated to help prevent leakage, then fired. Among Akadobe, pieces that glow with especially vivid scarlet are rare, and are prized as some of the most treasured examples of ancient Tamba ware.
Research continues today. The slip is thought likely to have been iron-rich “Tamba bengara” or possibly mineral scale, yet many details—such as exact firing temperatures—remain uncertain.

Shiro-Tamba

“Shiro-Tamba,” admired for its warm white surface, began to be made in the late Edo period. White slip—made by mixing cedar-ash glaze into white clay—is applied to the body and fired, producing an elegance unlike earlier Tamba ware. Shiro-Tamba is thought to have arisen from a longing for porcelain in a region that could not produce true porcelain. With its emergence, painted vessels popular in Arita ware and Kyo ware also began to be made in Tamba.
Exactly where the white clay was sourced, and how it was fired, is no longer known. That very uncertainty continues to draw today’s potters and lovers of Tamba ware.