Jul 8, 20212 min read

Emlog #13~Kiyomizu pottery-Shunzan kiln-~

Updated: Nov 6, 2021

Hello, I’m Aiko.

Today I would like to write about Kyoto’s famous Kiyomizu pottery(Kiyomizu-yaki).

Kiyomizu pottery started to be produced at the foot of the Higashiyama mountain range, Awata-guchi, Gojyo-zaka, Hiyoshi and Sennyu-ji areas in the early 17th century. Even now, many kilns and pottery artists in these areas are engaged in creating works.

I visited one kiln, Shunzan kiln(Shunzan-gama) and it’s showroom, Wakuwaku located in front of the gate of Sennyuji temple in Higashiyama.

Noriko-san & Yuri-san

Noriko-san is also an English tour guide.

So you can ask questions in English.

When you walk around Shunzan kiln, you would come across some other kilns as many kilns are scattered around this area. Interestingly, since each kiln has its own taste, color, and pattern, all kiyomizu pottery looks very different depending on the kiln.

Shunzan kiln's potteries have beautiful seasonal flower and tree patterns that have been inherited from the great potter, Ogata Kenzan(1663-1743).

Our cherry blossom plates!

We ordered plates with cherry blossom patterns because the logo of our group name, “Emmie” is a cherry blossom.

I would like to introduce the process until our plates are completed.

①Wheel throwing

Place clay on the center of a potter’s wheel and form using centrifugal force.

This process requires high technique.

Mr.Shunzan Mori, a potter and representative of Shunzan kiln, made the clay into a plate shape amazingly fast and beautifully.

Dry the plates for a day.

②Trimming

Put the half dried plate on a potter's wheel and trim it with metal spatulas and a brush.

③Engobing

This process is called shiro-gesho in Japanese, which means white make-up. The plate is covered with a white clay.

Dry for a week after engobing.

④ Underglaze painting

A young artist drew two types of cherry blossoms in pale colors on the plate.

All pictures are drawn by hand, so each pattern is slightly different.

That is the interesting part of handmaking.

Our plates were already very beautiful!!

⑤Grazing

Coat the plate with transparent graze. Brush iron glaze to the rim of the plate.

⑥Glost firing

Fire the plate at a high temperature between 1,200-1,300 degrees Celsius.

⑦Overglaze and overglaze firing

Draw cherry blossom petals with gold pigment for finish.

Then fire again at a low temperature, around 800 degrees Celsius.

Finally our plates are done!

Shunzan-san told me that even if you drew the same pictures, they all look different depending on the state of the kiln at that time. So our plates are the only ones in the world!

We are very happy about it🌸

We are going to use these plates at our cooking class, so please join it when you come to Kyoto.