Roots of Japanese pottery vol.2 Sueki

Sueki is a second generation pottery technique developed from Doki (Please see vol.1.). Sueki techniques came from South Korea in the 5th century. It is the first pottery made using a kiln. Doki pottery was burned with no cover, at a temperature of 600-800 degrees C. The lower temperature made brittle, red-brown ware. The Sueki kiln technique burned pottery at a temperature of 1,100 degrees C which made pottery, stronger. The kiln was a hole in the ground and used an oxidation burning method. The color was dark gray with blue.

In the beginning, Sueki ware was made for noble families in Osaka and Fukuoka. The production of Sueki ware further spread to most of western Japan, and by the 9th century, had reached northern Japan.

After that new technique came from Korea. Sueki was developed in Bizen, Seto, Tokoname, Shigaraki, Tanba and Echizen. We call these cities “Rokkoyo”, because they have each created their own unique version of Sueki technique. Please see the story.

A Sueki technique had also been used for making Kawara -a type of Japanese roof tile. You could see them on old temples and shrines in Kyoto and Nara.