Japanese Pottery

With over 30,000 years of history, Japan has accumulated a rich cultural heritage influenced by both the Eastern and Western worlds. One of the focal points of the nation's culture is traditional Japanese art, which encompasses a number of art forms: pottery, textiles, ink painting, sculpture, origami, calligraphy and many others. Ceramic craft is one of the country's oldest practices, with a variety of distinct styles emerging throughout Japan's extensive history. Raku ware is a type of pottery which has been used for tea ceremonies in Japan since the 16th century, and is often found on the collectors' market. Raku ware adheres to the Japanese ceramic tradition of creating earthenware in natural, 'earthy' colors; on the other hand, there is the contradicting tradition of vibrantly-colored, highly-executed pottery, as demonstrated by Arita ware. There a vast array of wares in Japanese pottery, including Hagi, Kutani and Karatsu.