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Color of Utsuwa

The Journal

Color of Utsuwa

器の色

How Japanese ceramics found their palette — cobalt, enamel, and the chemistry of glaze.

Hai-yū: Natural and Applied Ash Glazes in Japanese Ceramics Explore natural and applied ash glazes, early Sue and Sanage wares, varied glaze colours, and the limits of identifying a...
Kuro-yū: The Black Glazes of Japanese Ceramics Explore Japanese black glazes, tenmoku history and the differences between dark ceramic surfaces. Colour alone cannot identify a glaze recipe...
Seiji: The Jade-Green World of Japanese Celadon Explore seiji, Japanese celadon: iron-bearing green glazes, Hizen and Nabeshima history, and how to distinguish glaze crackle from damage.
Hakuji: Form and Surface in Japanese White Porcelain Hakuji, Japanese white porcelain: its plain surfaces, Arita and Hizen history, nigoshide, and the distinction between undecorated and painted white...
Kinrande: How Gold Brocade Came to Japanese Porcelain Kinrande gold-brocade porcelain: its Chinese and Japanese history, gold-leaf and liquid-gold terminology, and practical care for gilded surfaces.
Aka-e: Red Enamel in Japanese Porcelain Aka-e and Japanese red enamel: how overglaze decoration differs from sometsuke, its place in Arita history, and how to assess...
Sometsuke: Japanese Blue-and-White Porcelain Sometsuke is Japan’s underglaze-blue decoration. Follow its Arita and Hizen history, familiar motifs, cobalt colour and brushwork across old and...

Craft & Kilns

The places, materials and people behind Japanese craft.

Yellow wild-grape Kutani plate and white mejiro rice bowl on a sunlit wooden dining table.

Craft & Kilns

The Story of Kutani Ware

Early Kutani, Yoshidaya and export porcelain: the history behind the styles.

Illustrative home-table visualization of ZenKiln’s red-and-blue Edo Kiriko kagome pair; the actual product photo appears in the guide below.

Craft & Kilns

Edo Kiriko: Tokyo Cut Glass

Illustrative arrangement of pale Hagi-style bowls, cups, and a flask on a wooden table.

Craft & Kilns

Hagi Ware and the Seven Changes

Illustrative arrangement of blue-and-white Hasami-style porcelain for an everyday table.

Craft & Kilns

Hasami Porcelain for Everyday Tables

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Care & Guides

Practical reading for the pieces you use every day.

View all care guides

Series

Stories on tea bowls, Japanese lacquer and ceramic color.

Teabowl Studies

Teabowl Studies

Reading the chawan — kilns, glazes, and how a bowl is held

Urushi Studies

Urushi Studies

The craft of Japanese lacquer, layer by layer

Color of Utsuwa

Color of Utsuwa

How Japanese ceramics found their palette

All Stories

The latest stories, with more to explore by topic.

A greige Shigaraki mug and a yellow Bunzan peony porcelain mug filled with coffee on a wooden breakfast table.

Stoneware or Porcelain?

ZenKiln Journal graphic titled “What Is Furin? A Guide to Japanese Wind Chimes,” featuring three hanging Japanese wind chimes, including a cat-shaped bell and two floral ceramic bells with paper strips.

Gifts & Occasions

What Is Furin? Japanese Wind Chimes and the Sound of Summer

Tokoname white ceramic maneki neko with a raised left paw and gold koban on a wooden desk beside a coin dish and household ledger.

Maneki Neko Meaning and Origins: What Japan’s Lucky Cat Really Means

Eight maneki neko color associations from the Tokoname Tourism Association, with a note that customs vary by region and maker.

Maneki Neko Color Meanings: What Each Lucky Cat Color Means

White Kutani mejiro teapot and yellow bird-and-blossom yunomi on a wooden table set for tea.

What Is Kutani Ware?