page_title: Japanese pottery and porcelain
section_title: Jōmon period
hierarchical_section_title: Japanese pottery and porcelain / History / Jōmon period
caption_attribution_description: Periodo jomon, vaso con decorazione fiammeggiante, 3000-2000 a.c.
context_page_description: Pottery and porcelain, is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exceptionally long and successful history of ceramic production. Earthenwares were created as early as the Jōmon period, giving Japan one of the oldest ceramic traditions in the world. Japan is further distinguished by the unusual esteem that ceramics holds within its artistic tradition, owing to the enduring popularity of the tea ceremony.
  Japanese ceramic history records distinguished many potter names, and some were artist-potters, e.g. Hon'ami Kōetsu, Ogata Kenzan, and Aoki Mokubei. Japanese anagama kilns also have flourished through the ages, and their influence weighs with that of the potters. Another characteristically Japanese aspect of the art is the continuing popularity of unglazed high-fired stoneware even after porcelain became popular. Since the 4th century, Japanese ceramics have often been influenced by Chinese and Korean pottery.
context_section_description: In the Neolithic period (c. 11th millennium BC), the earliest soft earthenware was made.
  During the early Jōmon period in the 6th millennium BC typical coil-made ware appeared, decorated with hand-impressed rope patterns. Jōmon pottery developed a flamboyant style at its height and was simplified in the later Jōmon period. The pottery was formed by coiling clay ropes and fired in an open fire.
caption: Jōmon pottery flame-style (火焔土器, kaen doki) vessel, 3000–2000 BC, attributed provenance Umataka, Nagaoka, Niigata
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