Kutani ware

Kutani ware (九谷焼, Kutani-yaki) is a style of Japanese porcelain traditionally supposed to be from Kutani, now a part of Kaga, Ishikawa, in the former Kaga Province.^[1] It is divided into two phases: Ko-Kutani (old Kutani), from the 17th and early 18th centuries, and Saikō-Kutani from the revived production in the 19th century. The more prestigious Ko-Kutani wares are recognised by scholars to be a complex and much mis-represented group, very often not from Kutani at all.^[2]

Kutani ware, especially in the Ko-Kutani period, is marked by vivid dark colors that epitomize lavish aesthetics. It is theorized that the long, harsh and grey winters of the Hokuriku region led to a desire among people living there for ceramic ware to show strong and bold colours. The classical five colours style, known as gosai-de (五彩手), includes green, blue, yellow, purple, and red. The designs are bold and normally depict landscapes, the beauty of nature, and people, and cover most of the surface of each piece.^[3][4][5]

In recognition of the modern understanding that much, if not most, of the Ko-Kutani production was around Arita, the wares are now sometimes grouped with Imari ware (perhaps as "Ko-Kutani type"), or the wider groupings of Arita ware or Hizen ware.