Ceramics produced in Kyoto are generally referred to as Kyo-yaki or Kyo ware. Originated in the latter half of the 16th century, Kyo ware has continued to be produced in the present day. An ancient capital of Japan, Kyoto is still a major city with a large population. The fact that ceramic production has continued for centuries in the city perhaps makes Kyoto a rare existence in the world.
The ceramics are fired in traditional kilns fueled by firewood, so soot and smoke are emitted. Therefore, it is difficult to continue production in a densely populated area. Since the Edo period (1603-1867), Kiyomizu-yaki, a type of Kyo ware, had been produced in the vicinity of Kiyomizu in Higashiyama Ward, Kyoto. In the 1960s, as the number of residences increased around the area, residents made complaints, such as their laundry hanging outside becomes dirty.
Eventually, the Kiyomizu-yaki complex was built in Yamashina Ward, east of Kiyomizu on the other side of the mountains. Some potters and potteries then moved into the complex.
There were some who said that Higashiyama (literally, east mountains) refers to the mountains located east of Kyoto and crossing these mountains to move into the complex puts Higashiyama to the west, so they didn't want to move.
Of course, they were half-joking, but it's hard to admire this as a joke as it looks down on Yamashina Ward, which is outside the old city.
The old city of Kyoto is called Rakuchu, where court nobles, whose main line of business was the composition of waka traditional Japanese poems, used to reside and one such family remains. Many painters who draw ornamental pictures that decorate Imperial and court noble residences, as well as Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, live in the area and remain active, although their clientele has changed considerably. Artisans skilled in Nishijin-ori silk fabric weaving and Yuzen-zome dyeing, both sustaining kimono culture, continue their craft although their numbers have decreased.
Rakuchu is a place where residents live on an aesthetic sense and the "Kyoto" brand, so it certainly was hard for potters to leave.
Kiyomizu-dera temple, the No. 1 sightseeing spot in Kyoto, is in Kiyomizu, where the moving mess occurred. The 600-meter Chawanzaka approach to the temple is lined with about 30 shops selling Kiyomizu-yaki tea bowls and plates that are colorfully painted.
Tourists looking around these shops may become familiar only with Kiyomizu-yaki. But Kiyomizu was a small ceramic production center in the early Edo period. At the time, there were kilns in the east and west of Kyoto for firing such ceramics as Awata-yaki, Yasaka-yaki and Omuro-yaki.
Common to these ceramics was the brightness of the colors. Products with pigments of gold and silver have been popular. This gorgeousness and refinement, qualities common to kimono and Japanese-style paintings made in Kyoto, are called "Kyoto no miyabi" (Kyoto elegance).
The fathers of Kyo ware are said to be Nonomura Ninsei and Ogata Kenzan. Ninsei started a kiln in Omuro (in present-day Ukyo Ward) in the mid-17th century and created ceramics colored in various hues. Kenzan further developed Ninsei's technique in Narutaki in the same ward.
Awata-yaki assimilated the two potters' techniques and were produced in areas around present-day Okazaki Park in Sakyo Ward. This style of ceramics, which were comparable to art objects, was admired by court nobles and daimyo feudal lords.
Kiyomizu-yaki artistically fell behind other Kyo ware, but in 1782 ceramic wholesalers around Kiyomizu Gojozaka formed an association of ceramics from the area and expanded sales channels to Edo (present-day Tokyo) and the Shikoku and Chugoku regions. The association also had a system to give feedback to potters based on requests from people who purchased their works.
After having emphasized the sense of beauty in Kyoto, it may sound contradictory to conclude that Kiyomizu-yaki survived the competition by putting into visible form the Kyoto elegance as desired by outsiders.
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