Ashmolean Eastern Art Online, Yousef Jameel Centre for Islamic and Asian Art

High-fired, hard, watertight stoneware is at the centre of Japan’s ceramic tradition. The technique was brought from the Asian mainland around AD 500, and by the beginning of the Edo period (1600-1868) there were over thirty kiln sites across Japan. These produced stonewares for storage, cooking and for use in the tea ceremony.

In the 1590s, Korean potters introduced the sophisticated new stepped-chamber kiln to Kyushu in western Japan. This kiln achieved better control of the circulation of heat, which allowed porcelain to be made for the first time in Japan.

Arita in western Kyushu was the first centre of porcelain production, but by the early 1800s porcelain was being mass-produced in several parts of Japan and used as everyday household ware.

Plate with butterfly and flowers (EA1966.190)   Plate with rabbits and waves (EA1992.69)   Dish in the form of a peach (EA1987.10)

Faceted jar with green glaze (EA1987.34)   Dish with banana leaves and flowers (EA1998.221)   Stack of stoneware dishes surmounted by a porcelain dish (EAP.5016)

Tea jar with ivory lid (EA1968.18)   Serving dish used for the Japanese tea ceremony (EA1988.12)

Storage jar with natural ash glaze (EA1990.3)   Mukōzuke, or side dish used for the Japanese tea ceremony (EA1972.1)   Bottle with butterflies and flowers (EA2003.71)