Kodai  古代 -  the Old Age :  15000 BC. -1185AD

DESCRIPTION

The Yayoi people emerged from an admixture of Jomon hunter-gatherers with mainland Asian migrants who introduced (rice) agriculture and other continental material cultures including iron processing. The Yayoi period (around 300 B.C. to 300 A.D.) therefore marked a transition to a more established agricultural society in Japan. Pottery making techniques also evolved during this period including the use of the potter's wheel. Yayoi ceramics were characterized by simple and functional designs. It was made by covering the pieces of clay with materials such as straw so that they were fired at a high temperature. This allowed the Yayoi wares to be thinner than Jomon pottery, but still sturdy.

The Kofun (around 300-538 CE) and Asuka (538-710 CE) periods saw further development of pottery in Japan. Chinese and Korean influences became more prominent during this period. For example, these period and the following Asuka and Nara periods saw increasing firing in anagama, inclined tunnel kilns, and the potter's wheel was further developed and used. Some of the early Japanese ceramics were influenced by Chinese and Korean styles including the use of Enyu glazes and the three-color pottery (green, brown, white). 

Kofun pottery can be divided into two categories: Haji and Sue.
Haji pottery is a porous and reddish type of pottery that incorporated finer types of minerals than the Yayoi pottery but was similar in aesthetic styles and use. 

Sue or Sueki pottery is a blue-gray form of stoneware pottery brought by immigrant artisans from Korea. It was formed on the turntable and fired in an anagama and was almost identical in style to Korean pottery. Sue pottery
was generally unglazed, but sometimes showed an unintentional partial covering of ash glaze, ashes melted on the surfaces of the ceramic pieces during firing.

Both types were intended for storage and as kitchen utensils and tableware, as well as ceremonial and ritual pots intended for the large burial mounds in which the rich and powerful were buried. (The Kofun period gets its name from the word kofun (古墳) ancient burial mounds).

The Asuka period is named for the Asuka area on the south side of what is now the city of Nara, then the political and cultural center of the country.
The Asuka period was a time of profound transformation of Japanese society.
Of note was an increase in contacts with China and the Korean kingdoms of Koguryŏ, Silla, and especially Paekche. It led to far-reaching influence and even assimilation in the fields of culture and art with far-reaching consequences for Japanese society, Important concepts adopted from China and Korea were the Chinese written language and the recording of their own history, the use of coins and standardization of weights and measures, and the creation of a state with a centralized, bureaucratic government. The most important influence on Japanese society, however, was the introduction of Buddhism in 552 AD, the year of the official handing over of religious articles to Emperor Kimmei by a delegation from Paekche. All these developments had a profound impact on all aspects of Japanese society, so the Asuka period was also crucial in the history of Japanese ceramics. For example, innovations in kiln technology made different firing techniques possible and thus a wider range of ceramics could be produced. Decorative techniques also increased, and with the advent of Buddhism, ceramic objects as sacrificial vessels and sculptures. were also used for religious purposes in Buddhist temples with rituals and images radically different from indigenous Shintoism.

The Nara period (710-794 CE) is so called because its capital was in Nara. During this period, a national legal system was formed, the Ritsuryo system, based on the principle that all land and people belonged to the emperor, the tennō, who ruled through a hierarchical system of provincial governors and district heads who were responsible for taxing and passing on of taxes in his district. Its implementation, laid down in new laws, measures and tax systems, required a far-reaching expansion of the state apparatus. In the cultural field, chronicles and descriptions of history and culture were compiled, and a strong influence of culture from the Tang Dynasty in China emerged, brought to Japan by special envoys. The latter included the introduction of Chinese ceramics and techniques. Three-color glazed Tang ceramics came to Japan as early as the Asuka period, but did not have a major influence on the ceramic industry until the subsequent Nara period, when Japanese potters began to imitate Chinese styles such as celadon and sancai three-color glazed ceramics. This Japanese version of sensai, known as Nara sansai, has a glossy tricolor glaze obtained by applying mainly green glaze on transparent glaze with some accents of brown glaze. Colorful glazes to decorate ceramics flourished during this period. The spread of Buddhist practices and rituals had a major impact on Japanese society and in particular the promotion and protection of Buddhist temples by the Imperial Court  play a crucial role in the development of ceramic art.  Since these temple ceramics were used to hold offerings, store relics or decorate temple altars the production of these ceramics had to meet high standards of aesthetic and functional quality and placed increasing demands on the craftsmanship of the maker. Although many of the artistic elements had been imported from China and Korea, where Buddhism had been established for centuries, a distinctive Japanese ceramic style also emerged with symbols, deities and intricate patterns related to Buddhism. These designs added a spiritual dimension and thus also influenced the decoration and design of Japanese ceramics.

The Heian period spanned a period of nearly 400 years, from the relocation of the capital to Heian Kyo (Kyoto) in 794 to the establishment of the Kamakura Bakufu, the feudal government headed by a shogun in 1185. The Ritsuryo system established in the previous period was reformed into a dynastic nation-state, a form of national government in which the power and leadership of the country was determined by succession within the same royal family.  Control was exercised by the Zuryo, who was the head of the the provincial governors, kokushi, who were nobles sent from the central government in Kyoto to oversee a province. Implementation was done by the provincial government (kokuga) with its offices for administration, farming, finance and police and military, supported by the samurai, a military class recruited from the families of the kokushi.  Starting in the early 12th century, the system of the dynastic nation-state began to change and the functions of the kokushi were increasingly transferred to military governors. In the second half of the twelfth century, several devastating wars hasten the transfer of hegemony from the aristocracy leading to the establishment in1185 of a military regime in Kamakura . 

Culturally, the Heian Period is referred to as the Golden Age of Japan because of advancements in the arts, architecture, and religious rituals. It was indeed a very fruitful period of high level Japanese culture in which literary highlights as "The Tale of Genji  was created,  an absorbing introduction to the culture of the aristocracy in early Heian Japan-its forms of entertainment, its manner of dress, its daily life, and its moral code, written in a poetic style of Japanese that borrowed from Chinese but contained Japanese characters written in a graceful cursive script called hiragana.  Buddhism also underwent changes.

When Buddhism was introduced in the late Asuka period, Japan did not get rid of Shintoism, the ancient religious system, but established a "peaceful coexistence" between kami worship and Buddhism. This resulted in Buddhist temples being attached to local kami shrines and dedicated to both kami and Buddhas. Local religion and foreign Buddhism thus never fully merged, but continued to coexist and interact, which was also reflected in art, including ceramics. This period marked the beginning of the evolution of Japanese ceramic art, which would continue to flourish and refine in later periods.

The ceramics of the Heian period include both practical and aesthetic purposes. During the early Heian period, many Chinese ceramics, such as porcelain and celadon, were imported. These pieces served as inspiration for Japanese potters who succeeded in producing increasingly refined and decorative pottery, often with intricate designs and glazes. However, although a three-color lead glaze technique was introduced to Japan from the Tang dynasty of China earlier in the 8th century, mainly simple pottery with green lead glaze for temples was produced in the Heian period, In what is today known as Aichi Prefecture, Sanage Kiln artisans began producing Kaiyu pottery pieces made with artificial glazes and fired at high temperatures.

In addition to the influence of Chinese ceramic developments, Japanese potters also have their own styles and techniques, with a simple, functional aesthetic and often used for everyday use. The highly water-resistant Yakishime pottery (high-fired unglazed pottery) was also probably made in the late Heian period and spread across Japan due to their practicality. Famous examples of yakishime include Tokoname wares, Atsumi wares, Echizen wares, Shigaraki wares, Tanba wares, and Bizen wares. In contrast to the scarce and expensive ceramics for the upper class, this type was produced in large quantities of utility ceramics. To achieve this, numerous provincial kilns were built in western Japan, far from Kyoto, the center of political power. A structure of independent production and trade emerged, the prelude to a new era.