Kutani ware
[2] Kutani ware, especially in the Ko-Kutani period, is marked by vivid dark colors that epitomize lavish aesthetics.
It is theorized that the long, harsh and grey winters of the Hokuriku region led to a desire among people living there for ceramic ware to show strong and bold colours.
The classical five colours style, known as gosai-de (五彩手), includes green, blue, yellow, purple, and red.
The designs are bold and normally depict landscapes, the beauty of nature, and people, and cover most of the surface of each piece.
[7][5] Theories put forward include that supplies of the pigments necessary for the glazing were difficult to find, or that there were financial difficulties.
[6][14] New overglaze painting techniques from various kamamoto were infused in the development of what became known as revived Kutani (再興九谷, Saikō-Kutani).
[14][17] Tokuda Yasokichi III (1933–2009) was designated a Living National Treasure for his enamel work in ao-de ko-Kutani.
[18][19] Apart from traditional vessels such chawan, Kutani artists have branched out in recent times to produce items such as a sneaker made out of porcelain with lively colours and accessories such as USB flash drives.
[20][21] Six different over-glazing techniques dominate the revised form of Kutani: In a normal production process the artisan receives a plain white ceramic piece.
For the patterns and decoration, for example, the five colours called gosai-de made out of vitreous enamel are painted on the vessel with thick strokes, making the whole piece more three-dimensional in the end.
[24] A unique feature of Kutani ware is the application of fine calligraphy called saiji (細字), which is miniature in size.
The founder of this art is considered to be Oda Seizan (小田清山), who first pioneered this form in the early Meiji era.
[28] An excavation survey was conducted by the Ishikawa Prefecture Board of Education from 1955, and found two continuous-cell noborigama step kilns on the right bank of the Daishoji River.
