Two Landscapes of Japanese Clay: The Secret Porcelain Valley of Nabeshima (Ōkawachiyama) and the Living Studio Tradition of Kasama

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A ceramic landscape begins at the scale of a hand: a rim, a foot, a line disappearing beneath glaze. Yet the place behind that surface matters. Ōkawachiyama in Saga and Kasama in Ibaraki offer two different ways to approach Japanese clay. One invites us to consider the discipline of presentation porcelain; the other opens onto a broad field of individual studio practice.

From our base in Tsukuba, Kasama is a regional neighbour. Looking across to Ōkawachiyama is an opportunity to compare traditions without reducing either to a single colour or shape. This guide begins with place, then returns to the object and the practical questions a collector can ask.

Part I — Ōkawachiyama and Nabeshima Ware

Ōkawachiyama is known as Hiyō no Sato, the “Village of Secret Kilns.” The Imari Nabeshima ware cooperative describes the Saga domain kiln’s move there in 1675 and the checkpoint used to protect its techniques and craftspeople. The national heritage account places the establishment of the domain kiln around the 1660s. These accounts differ in dating; a precise chronology should therefore be read with its source attached.

Nabeshima presentation ware was made for recipients including the shogunal family and other daimyō. It is more accurate to speak of that specialised production than to assume that every vessel fired in the valley was a presentation gift. The cooperative’s history also distinguishes chambers for Nabeshima ware from those producing ordinary wares, and describes the transition following the abolition of the domains in 1871.

The three broad traditions—coloured Nabeshima, blue-and-white Nabeshima, and Nabeshima celadon—offer useful starting points for looking. Rather than treating these names as a verdict on a particular piece, begin with what is visible. Where does a painted line gather strength? How does a relief motif meet the glaze? What happens at the edge of the foot?

A quiet celadon surface rewards changes of viewpoint. Move around the work rather than judging it from one photograph. Look at the relationship between a raised detail and the surrounding plain area, then return to the overall silhouette. A mark or box inscription should be recorded carefully, but neither alone establishes an object’s date, authorship or full history.

Wakō Tōyō’s family history identifies Ichikawa Wakō as the third son of the eighteenth-generation Ichikawa Kōzan (1907–1982). Its profile records Wakō’s birth in 1945 and the opening of the kiln in 1983. The family account also records Kōzan’s study under Takeuchi Seihō and recognition as a preserver of Iro-Nabeshima technique in 1940.

Part II — Kasama’s Living Studio Tradition

Kasama City traces the beginnings of its pottery to the An’ei era, 1772–1781, when Kuno Han’emon learned from the Shigaraki potter Chōemon. The city’s account follows production through everyday vessels, later changes in demand, and a renewed emphasis on craft. Kasama ware received national traditional craft designation in 1992.

Today, the city describes approximately 300 potters and kilns. That wording matters: it is not a count of 300 identical studios. For a collector, the breadth of practice is an invitation to look at individual decisions. Compare the proportion of neck to body, the treatment of the base, and the movement of a surface around a curve.

One distinctive Kasama voice is Matsui Kōsei (1927–2003), a priest at Gessō-ji and a Living National Treasure for neriage. The Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum describes his dōkon ishoku method of colouring a shared base clay, and the shōretsu surfaces in which forming opens fissures across the exterior.

Try writing a short looking note before reading a biography. Describe the shape in plain words, then record the surface under neutral light. Separate observation from interpretation: “a vertical opening” describes what you see; a named series or exhibition history requires documentary support. This distinction leaves room for pleasure while keeping the record useful.

Regional names provide context, but a collection becomes more precise through the evidence attached to each work. Keep photographs of the object, its base and any accompanying documents together. Transcribe inscriptions separately from their proposed readings, and preserve uncertainty where a character or attribution remains unresolved.

Part III — Collector’s Care Notes

Care begins with condition. The Canadian Conservation Institute recommends supporting glass and ceramics with both hands rather than lifting by a handle or spout, and inspecting decoration and damage before cleaning. It advises against dishwashers for fine glass and ceramics, and against attempting to clean unglazed, unevenly fired or soft ceramics without specialist help.

A fixed soaking or drying timetable is not suitable for every collected object. Before applying a water-seasoning routine, establish the material, condition and intended use of that particular work. Keep its box and documents together, and consult a conservator when fragile decoration, an old repair or an uncertain surface makes treatment unclear.

Continue looking through our Past Treasures Archive, or visit Sabiru Treasures on Catawiki for current listings. For an active lot or order, please contact us through Catawiki.

Featured Active Nabeshima & Kasama Works on Catawiki

The following works from the Ōkawachiyama (Nabeshima) and Kasama traditions are currently offered by Sabiru Treasures on Catawiki (seller page), each documented with studio-white reference photographs:

Ichikawa Kazuhiro / Wakō Tōyō (b. 1945) — Nabeshima Celadon Peony Incense Container (Kōgō): Carved peony scroll in low relief beneath luminous Ōkawachiyama celadon glaze. View Lot 108006765 on Catawiki ↗
Masami Kobayashi (小林政美) — Kasama Ringed Sculptural Vase (20.5 cm): Wheel-thrown and altered stoneware with horizontal rings and dark dotted glaze. View Lot 107799841 on Catawiki ↗
Masami Kobayashi (小林政美) — Faceted Ceramic Vase with Golden Branch Motifs: Geometric faceted stoneware body with warm golden branch decoration. View Lot 107532505 on Catawiki ↗
Sakai Hōju / Sakai Yoshiki (酒井芳樹, b. 1950) — Kasama Ware Blue-Glazed Water Dropper (Suiteki): Compact scholarly suiteki with pooled cobalt-blue glaze over Kasama stoneware. View Lot 108006825 on Catawiki ↗
Sakai Hōju (酒井芳樹) — Kasama Ware Iron-Glazed Bud Vase: Quiet iron-glazed ichirin-zashi form from Kasama. View Lot 107904425 on Catawiki ↗
Shūji Yanagibashi — Kasama Ware Ovoid Vase with Coloured Slip and Gold Geometric Decoration: Contemporary Kasama ovoid vessel combining coloured slip planes and gold accents. View Lot 107789674 on Catawiki ↗