赤膚焼

The tradition & historical record

Akahada ware (赤膚焼, Akahada-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery traditionally from Nara Prefecture focused on primarily Tea Ceremony ware. ¹

Starting in 1585 Akahada ware was created by several kilns and became a favorite of Korobi Enshū There was a serious decline due to the political changes in the mid 18th century, causing the kilns to be moved around and changed. In 1785 the feudal lord in Koriyama castle in Nara Yanagisawa Yasumitsu, asked two potters named Inosuke and Jihee to revitalize the kilns. The kilns were eventually moved to Koriyama and had a central, eastern, and western kiln. The central kiln was run by Okuda Mokuhaku. The western kiln was run by the two potters Sobei and Shijiro After 1785 the kilns had the patronage of the daimyo of Koriyama castle where they remain in production today. ¹

The clay is milky white, sometimes with a hint of red, with clear glaze. The most common form is tea wares such as cups, jars, and bowls. A common defining feature is Nara-e drawings painted onto the surface under the glaze featuring scenes from fairy tales, noh songs, and other similar sources. ¹

Currently, there are six Akahada ware kilns operating in Nara today. The eighth-generation Furuse kiln, the fourth-generation Oshiro Akiyama kiln, another Oshiro kiln, the ninth-generation Oshiro Sheijin kiln, the fourth-generation Ogawa kiln, and the eighth-generation Onishi kiln. ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Akahada ware”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Akahada ware is type of Japanese pottery traditionally from Nara Prefecture, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²

The source record links this tradition to 2 external registers, which can be verified through the citation. ²