On landscapes, accidents
- David
- Apr 3, 2023
- 2 min read
Updated: Sep 9, 2023
The Japanese have developed the idea of examining and valuing the landscape (the keshiki) of a pot. According to the website linked below, “Keshiki involves how the glaze flows, stops and pools, the colour of the clay, the creating process, or how kiln occurrences play out on the surface.”
I was extremely excited when I first found about about this – that my various cock-ups all had a name, and (when viewed in the correct way) could even be desirable, or at the very least – understood and defined. So concerned have I been at losing this list, and so unlikely is the website I found it on, that I quote it here in full, with all due gratitude and apologies:
Amamori: A "leaky roof" grouping of stains or spots - mostly found on kohiki wares.
Bebera: An accidental break in a piece, usually on the lip where a potters trimming tool has hit or skipped over an impurity.
Bidoro: "Vitrified glass" taken from the Portuguese word for glass. Found mainly on Iga wares. Also sometimes called a tombo no me (or dragonfly's eye).
Goma: "Sesame" colored natural glaze from pine ash that fuses and melts on a pot. Some goma are called nagare-goma (flowing goma) or tobi-goma (spotted flying goma).
Hakeme: White slip that has been applied with a stiff brush.
Hidasuki: "Fire cord" markings from straw that was wrapped around a pot and burned off in the kiln. Found mainly on Bizen wares.
Hi-iro: Fire colour, red flash marks.
Hima: A place where glaze has not been applied and the quality of the clay can be seen.
Hi'tsuki: A place on a pot where a piece from another pot has broken off and fused on the surface.
Ishihaze: A "stone explosion." Often found on Bizen and other yakishime (high-fired unglazed stonewares) - mostly accidental but some potters add stones for an intentional ishihaze.
Kairagi: Crawling of the glaze - mainly seen on Karatsu and Hagi wares around the kodai (foot).
Kamakizu: A crack that happens in a kama (kiln). Usually these pieces are not thrown away.
Kawakujira: Found mainly on Karatsu wares - an iron band is drawn around the lip - said to resemble whale's skin.
Koge: "Scorch" markings found on Ki-Seto and Iga wares.
Me or Me-ato: Spur marks left on a pot after stacking in a kiln.
Tanpan: Copper-green marks found on Ki-Seto wares.
Tsuchiaji: The "flavor" of the clay.
Yamamichi: A "mountain path" lip - sometimes also called Gokaku or Gohou for the lip looks like five mountains from China.
Yohen: "Kiln changes." Most often a build up of ash on a yakishime piece and deep blues, browns, and reds - often seen on Bizen.
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