Shigaraki-yaki – The Clay from the Bottom of Lake Biwa

Some ceramic traditions owe their existence to a geological coincidence dating back millions of years. Shigaraki-yaki is one of them: the clay from which this robust, unglazed stoneware is made comes from the sediment layers of a prehistoric predecessor of today's Lake Biwa – rich in feldspar, coarse-grained, and with a texture reminiscent of granite. Anyone holding a Shigaraki vase or bowl in their hands feels exactly that: an earthy, almost stony roughness that no other Japanese ceramics possess in this form.

What Is Shigaraki-yaki?

Shigaraki-yaki (信楽焼) is a traditional, unglazed Japanese stoneware from the region around the city of Kōka in Shiga Prefecture, east of Lake Biwa. It is counted among the Six Ancient Kilns (Rokkoyo), the six most tradition-steeped pottery centers of Japan, which besides Shigaraki also include Bizen, Seto, Tokoname, Echizen, and Tamba. Like Bizen, Shigaraki-yaki is fired using the yakishime technique – a high-temperature firing without applied glaze, in which the characteristic coloring arises from the interplay of clay, flame, and ash. Glazed and painted pieces are also produced in the region; however, Shigaraki's reputation rests on its unglazed ware.

A Clay with a Geological History

What makes Shigaraki clay so special is its origin: it comes from deposits of the so-called ancient Lake Biwa, a precursor body of water to today's Lake Biwa, which gradually shifted northward over millions of years, leaving behind massive sediment layers in the region around Shigaraki. The Japan Heritage consortium of the six ancient kiln towns explicitly attributes the origin of Shigaraki ware to these deposits of the ancient Biwa formation, which formed between roughly four million and 400,000 years ago. The Japan Heritage consortium of the six ancient kiln towns explicitly attributes the origin of Shigaraki ware to these deposits of the ancient Biwa formation, which formed between roughly four million and 400,000 years ago. The Japan Heritage consortium of the six ancient kiln towns explicitly attributes the origin of Shigaraki ware to these deposits of the ancient Biwa formation, which formed between roughly four million and 400,000 years ago. This clay is rich in feldspar and often contains coarse quartz inclusions, which give the fired material its characteristic rough, grainy surface. At the same time, the clay is exceptionally heat-resistant and dimensionally stable, which is why it has always been particularly well suited for large-format objects – from storage vessels and charcoal braziers to large planters.

From the Kamakura Period to the Tea Ceremony

The origins of Shigaraki ware date back to the second half of the Kamakura period (1185–1333), when the region initially produced coarse utilitarian ceramics such as storage pots and mortars for everyday agricultural use. With the flourishing of the tea ceremony in the 16th century, tea masters discovered the rough, unrefined texture of Shigaraki ware for themselves: its irregular, earthy effect fit ideally with the emerging wabi-sabi aesthetic, which deliberately broke with the perfection of smooth, glazed imported ware. Thus, alongside everyday vessels, tea utensils such as water containers (mizusashi) and flower vases in the Shigaraki style increasingly came into being. Both stages can be viewed side by side at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: a large storage vessel from the late 15th century and a bucket-shaped mizusashi from the 16th century, both catalogued as stoneware with natural ash glaze. Both stages can be viewed side by side at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: a large storage vessel from the late 15th century and a bucket-shaped mizusashi from the 16th century, both catalogued as stoneware with natural ash glaze. Both stages can be viewed side by side at the Metropolitan Museum of Art: a large storage vessel from the late 15th century and a bucket-shaped mizusashi from the 16th century, both catalogued as stoneware with natural ash glaze.

Yōhen: The Language of Fire

As with other yakishime traditions, the true beauty of a Shigaraki piece emerges only in the kiln. During firing at temperatures between approximately 1,250 and 1,300 degrees Celsius, alkali and lime components of the wood ash combine with the silica of the clay to form a natural glass layer – the so-called natural ash glaze. Depending on position in the kiln, proximity to the flame, and oxygen supply, a wide variety of effects can arise: from a glowing fire red to bluish-gray discoloration to small, bead-like protrusions that in Japanese are vividly called "crab eyes" (Kani no me) or "hailstones" (Arare). These firing effects, known as Yōhen, make each piece, as with Bizen ware, a non-reproducible unique work.

The Tanuki Figures of Shigaraki

Hardly any image is more inseparably linked to Shigaraki than the small, round tanuki figures – stylized raccoon dogs with straw hats, sake bottles, and round bellies, placed in front of shops, restaurants, and houses throughout Japan as good-luck charms. This folk tradition only developed in the 20th century, but is now considered one of the best-known hallmarks of Shigaraki ware, showing how a centuries-old craft tradition can continue to evolve with popular, humorous motifs without losing its technical foundations.

Rediscovery in the 20th Century

Like many other unglazed ceramic traditions, Shigaraki-yaki also came under increasing pressure in the course of industrialization. A significant impetus for the revival of the historical Momoyama aesthetic came in the 1930s through a discovery at the old kiln site of Mutagahora in Gifu Prefecture, which fundamentally expanded the understanding of the historical ceramic production of that era; the Victoria and Albert Museum dates this search for traces by the potter Arakawa Toyozō to the year 1930. Inspired by this, Shigaraki potters such as Takahashi Rakusai III and Ueda Naokata IV also devoted themselves to the reconstruction of the old, high-fired Momoyama pieces, thereby making a decisive contribution to the renaissance of the traditional Shigaraki aesthetic in the 20th century.

Shigaraki Ware in Everyday Life

Alongside the well-known tanuki figures and large-format garden objects, Shigaraki today produces a broad spectrum of utilitarian ceramics: vases, tea utensils, sake vessels, and tableware for daily use. Particularly as vases, the porous, unglazed surface is prized, since it regulates moisture differently than glazed vessels and often keeps cut flowers fresh longer. Anyone wishing to recognize a handcrafted original should pay attention to the characteristic, never entirely even grain of the surface and the individual firing marks, which cannot be replicated in any industrially manufactured piece.

From Guardian Deity to International Good Luck Charm

The origin of the famous Shigaraki tanuki figures can be traced back to the 1950s, when the potter Fujiwara Teiichi decisively shaped the round, plump style of the figures that remains characteristic to this day. A decisive boost in popularity came when the Japanese Emperor Hirohito, during a visit to the region in 1951, publicly expressed his enthusiasm for the small raccoon dog figures – an event that made the tanuki figures known nationwide and significantly accelerated their spread as good luck charms in front of shops and restaurants across the country. To this day, the tanuki, with its large belly, straw hat, and sake bottle, is considered one of the most distinctive symbols of the Shigaraki region and is valued equally as a humorous everyday object and as serious craftsmanship.

Beyond the popular tanuki tradition, however, Shigaraki remains above all an important destination for serious connoisseurs of Japanese ceramics: numerous contemporary potters in the region continue to this day the centuries-old yakishime firing technique, combining traditional craftsmanship with an independent artistic idiom. The Shigaraki Ceramic Cultural Park documents this long line of development from the earliest agricultural utility vessels to contemporary ceramic art, attracting both specialist audiences and interested laypeople alike. This combination of popular recognition through the tanuki figures and technical depth makes Shigaraki one of the most accessible, yet at the same time most demanding, ceramics regions of Japan.

At densho.de you will find handcrafted Japanese ceramics unique works that make this earthy, millions-of-years-old material history visible – each piece individually sourced from Japan. Discover in our selection of Japanese ceramics the rustic, unmistakable texture of Shigaraki-yaki. In this way, Shigaraki-yaki combines earthy permanence with a touch of everyday humor to this day, in a way hardly any other ceramics tradition in Japan offers. This combination of geological chance and centuries-long craft refinement makes Shigaraki-yaki one of the most earth-bound ceramics traditions of Japan. Whoever holds a Shigaraki piece in their hands literally holds a piece of millions-of-years-old geological history. This combination of geological depth and craft presence makes each Shigaraki piece a small, tangible piece of natural history. Those who want to buy Japanese ceramics that directly show this earthy aesthetic will find what they are looking for in our selection.

Sources and Literature

Japan Heritage Consortium of the Six Ancient Kilns: The Six Ancient Kilns – About us, en.sixancientkilns.jp.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Pail-shaped freshwater jar (Onioke mizusashi), Acc. No. 2015.300.273a, b, metmuseum.org.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art: Large Storage Jar (Ōtsubo), Acc. No. 1975.268.428, metmuseum.org.

Louise Allison Cort: Shigaraki, Potters' Valley. Kodansha International, Tokyo/New York/San Francisco 1979.