With Focus on the 19th to 20th Centuries



Two Styles
Because Japanese celadon ware, during its development, was strongly influenced by Chinese celadon, it has many similarities in terms of shape and pattern with Chinese celadon. In addition, in the process of emulating Chinese celadon, similar techniques could be used, so that Chinese-style shaping techniques were also introduced. For instance, there were the relief patterns made by attaching molds, or, when making three-legged incense burners, the glaze was spread to the point where the feet touched ground and placed on mats in the kiln, and so on. From the 17th to 18th centuries, in the Arita kilns (Saga Prefecture) and the Nabeshima domain kilns (Saga Prefecture) and elsewhere, various kinds of such Chinese-influenced celadon ware were being manufactured.

However, it is noteworthy that the technique whereby the celadon glaze is used as a pigment and combined with those used in blue and white porcelain had already appeared during the early phase of celadon production. Moreover, for even earlier periods it has been impossible to find works modeled after Chinese ceramic ware, which demonstrates that this kind of celadon was invented, developed, and produced in Japan. The technique of combining the expressive methods of celadon and blue and white also existed in the 19th century, particularly in many dish-type objects produced in the Arita kilns, which used celadon glazes to fill out the background spaces of patterns on blue and white porcelains.

The celadon glaze technique in celadon ware with blue and white is reminiscent of the Oribe firing technique of the early 17th century, in which copper green glaze was often daubed on different parts of the object. This division of the object surface into separate areas for different glazes is a technique that often appears in Japanese ceramics, so it was probably natural to do the same thing with celadon glaze. Moreover, as with the use of color pigments in Arita ware, the celadon glaze could also be used to express a color area. In sum, this was an expressive technique whereby celadon glaze came to be used as a pigment.
Basically, the Chinese influence on Japan's China-influenced celadon ware is the application of celadon glaze to the entire bodies of the objects. At this time, priority was attached to the shapes of the objects, and if the celadon covered the whole object, then the glaze would seem integral to the shape of the work. Conversely, if the object combined celadon and blue and white, then more emphasis was placed on pattern and color, and the celadon glaze was used as surface ornamentation on the object. After the Japanese encountered celadon glaze and started to emulate the Chinese celadon ware, they realized that celadon glaze could be used as a color pigment. The Japanese favored colors and patterns rich in feeling and interest, and so their beloved blue and white celadon ware developed from this. We may say that these two styles of celadon are clearly characteristic of Japanese celadon.

Styles of 19th century Celadon
In Kyushu in the latter half of the 18th century, in addition to the Hizen (Saga) area kilns, numerous others began production, including in Sue (Fukuoka Prefecture), Takahama and Ouda (Kumamoto Prefecture), and Hirasa (Kagoshima Prefecture). Meanwhile, kilns in Tobe (Ehime Prefecture) on Shikoku and in Kyuto (Kyuto Municipality), Izushi and Sanda (Hyogo Prefecture) began production. Coming to the 19th century, to these were added Seto (Aichi Prefecture), Mino (Gifu Prefecture), Otokoyama (Wagayama Prefecture), Aisuhongo (Fukujima Prefecture), Hirashimizu (Yamagata Prefecture), and many others, so that ceramics production spread throughout Japan. The raw material was a mix of local clays and various other clays, or clay that had been brought in from Amakusa (Kumamoto Prefecture) and elsewhere. As ceramic production began everywhere, so did the possibility of putting celadon glaze on the unfinished clay bodies, but in fact virtually all that was produced was blue and white ware. Only a very tiny proportion of it was celadon. Among the localities producing ceramics, the one that produced the most celadon ware was Sanda in Hyogo Prefecture.

Although Sanda also produced a great deal of blue and white ware, the celadon to total production ratio here was much greater than that of other locales.1 Why did Sanda produce more celadono The two main reasons have to do with shaping technique and raw materials for glaze. The glaze for Sanda celadon ware could produce a distinctively deep green color by virtue of the local Toishidani clay that was used. As for manufacturing technique, from around the Bunka era (1804-1817) to approximately 1827, when Kinkodo Kisuke (1765-1837) directed the kilns there, he introduced a superior shaping technique using turning molds. Kinkodo, a native of Fushimi, Kyuto Prefecture, was born to a family of doll-makers, and later he studied pottery at the studio of Okuda Eisen (1753-1811), who was the first in Kyuto to manufacture porcelain. He was adept at applying the technique of raising relief patterns with molds, which was used in doll-making, in the making of celadon ware. Most of the Sanda ware was made with clay molds (unglazed molds).
Sanda celadon glaze showed a deeper green than that used in Nabeshima celadon ware. Although the clay used for these vessels contained somewhat more iron than the clay used for the blue and white ware, basically they were still the clay bodies for porcelain ware. Hence, to enrich the color of the celadon, it was necessary to apply the glaze more thickly. The decorative patterns and images were selected mostly from Chinese-style materials such as peonies, scrolling vine and flower patterns, dragons, phoenixes, human figures (Tang dynasty style), and so on. Many of the patterns on Sanda blue and white ware were in imitation of those found on Chinese Ming dynasty blue and white ware. From this we can perceive the influence that Chinese tastes had.

Chinese Tastes of the 19th century
Japanese ceramics had been influenced by Chinese ceramics since antiquity, and that pervasive influence can indeed be determined from the changing patterns, shapes, and colors seen in 19th century Arita ware. The inscription “Made in the Qianlong era of the Great Qing” that began to appear on Arita ware circa 1790 is clearly the result of influence from Qing dynasty ceramics. The overlapping lemon-yellow and opaque white pigments, pink pigments, and so on are all thought to be due to the influence of Chinese famille rose ware. Near the end of the 18th century, Okuda Eisen in Kyoto made painted vessels in the Ming Wanli style, and coming into the 19th century, the antique revival style in Chinese ceramics also became everywhere visible in Japanese ceramics. The production of celadon at Sanda likewise took place as this Chinese taste became popular.

Kinkodo Kisuke had directed porcelain manufacture not only at Sanda but also at ojiyama, and so the ojiyama kilns in Sasayama, Hyogo Prefecture produced similar celadon ware. He also directed porcelain manufacture at Otokoyama and Zuishi in Wagayama Prefecture, and the latter kiln produced excellent celadon ware. Zuishi celadon was similar to Sanda celadon in that both had relief patterns raised by pressing the vessel with molds, but the Zuishi ware also applied the technique of using a trowel to make incised patterns. There were screens, inkstones, brush-rests, ink stick rests, water-drippers, and other writing tools manufactured with pressure molds, each bearing clear relief patterns. The clay used for Zuishi celadon ware contained more iron than that used for Sanda ware, making the color of the glaze deeper. As for the shaping of large vessels like pots, these were fundamentally shaped on the wheel, not with pressure molds, and later on the molds to raise the relief patterns were applied. The decorations and patterns on many works used both this technique for the relief patterns and the trowel technique for the incised patterns.
When Seto began producing porcelain in the early 19th century, nearly all of its output was blue and white ware; only a very tiny proportion was celadon. Since most of the Seto celadon used glaze thinly applied on a white china clay body, the resulting products had a lighter tint of green. In addition, the shape of the Seto celadon ware was by no means uniformly copied after Chinese celadon, for distinctive expressive techniques are discernable in the inkstones, water jars (mizusashi used in the tea ceremony), and other objects.
In the second half of the 19th century, Okawachiyama (Saga Prefecture) produced large quantities of celadon ware covered entirely with cracked glaze. The glaze was applied to the same thickness as that on Nabeshima celadon ware, but a tea-brown clay body was used, and the crackling of the glaze was very pronounced. It is conjectured that this technique began to appear in imitation of the Southern Song celadons produced in the Jiaotan Guan kilns. In the Meiji era, cracked glaze began to appear on painted ceramic objects as well.

Celadon in the Meiji era and Afterward
There is no clearly discernable stylistic change in Japanese celadon ware between the Meiji era (1868-1911) and the Edo era before it. In Sanda, which produced many celadon items, new organizations such as Sanda Seiji Goshi-Kaisha were established, and it continued to be the primary producer of celadon. However, the scale of production gradually shrank, and finally, in 1944, it shut down for good.
In terms of celadon production technique, it was during the Meiji era that methods using a mix of chromium (III) oxide (viridian) in the clay and glaze began to be used. Clay with viridian powder mixed in appears grayish-green, but if only a thin layer of glaze is applied it yields a deeper glaze color effect. Viridian, like cobalt monoxide, were both used in Japan as pigment on vessels fired at high temperature, and their use became widespread beginning in the early years of the Meiji era. The use of cobalt monoxide, which was imported from Germany, spread rapidly through Japanese kilns in the early Meiji period, and viridian also became a novel pigment. The method of mixing the materials with clay was probably devised with reference to the techniques that Wedgwood in England had used to make its jasperware starting in the 18th century. Among the vases made in 1876 by the master Arita ceramist Toshikian Kisabu (1845-1886), there were some in which viridian had been mixed into the clay, and then the shaped vessels were biscuit-fired. However, since no glaze had been applied, the vases do not look like celadon ware. During the Meiji era, most of the celadon ware made with clay mixed with viridian was produced in Kyuto.

One cannot find Korean influence in Edo era celadon ware, but traces of this influence gradually appear during the Taisho and early Showa periods. Among the works of Miyagawa Tozan I (1842-1916) and Suwa Sozan II (1890-1978) of Kyoto, there are celadon works with white inlay patterns and black inlay patterns, and from these one can sense the influence of Korean celadon ware.
Also, by this time, Chinese ceramics, particularly of the Song dynasty, were attracting more and more attention, so many ceramists began to study or imitate it. In Kyoto, after Miyagawa Tozan II (1859-1940), Kawai Kanjiro (1890-1966), Uno Soyo (1888-1973), Itaya Hazan (1872-1963), and others researched Song celadon, they produced a steady stream of new works. After such a long period of nostalgic looking back at Chinese celadon ware and practical experience in its manufacture, Japanese celadon gradually pulled away from the various classical forms after World War II and began making its own creative way in celadon.
1. Although it is impossible to calculate precisely the ratio of celadon to total output in each location, it is quite clear, judging from shards unearthed at the Sanda kiln sites and from the works passed down to this day, that there was more celadon at Sanda. As for Arita ware, it is likewise impossible to calculate the celadon ratio from the number of shards unearthed at the kiln sites, but among the 10,311 works in 4,416 varieties in The Kyushu Ceramic Museum's Mr. and Mrs. Shibata Collection, celadon. accounts for 4.3%, white porcelain 6.6%, painted ware 26.2%, and blue and white 60.0%. Since the works of this collection had been gathered at will, it is impossible to determine clearly the output shares of the respective varieties of Arita ware during the Edo period, but this data can serve as a reference.

References:
．Nihon no seiji (Japanese Celadons). Arita, Saga: Saga kenritsu Kyushu toji bunkakan, 1989.
．Katachi ga umidasu, yakimono no bi—KakiemonoSanda (The Birth of Form and the Beauty of Pottery—KakiemonoSanda). Sasayama, Hyogo: Hyogo togei bijutsukan, 2010.