Kiseto

One of the main styles of Mino ware produced during the Momoyama period. Kiseto literally means Seto ware with a yellow glaze, but since Mino ware, whose kiln is located nearby, was widely understood to be Seto ware in Kyoto during the Momoyama period, the name Kiseto was given to the ware produced in Mino. Kiseto is based on a glazing method that is descended from ash glaze, which was an important glazing technique for Seto ware in the Middle Ages, and the ware produced is also characterized by the fact that, like Seto, it is based on Chinese ceramics.

Kiseto is broadly divided into two types: Koseto-style Kiseto, which is a highly lustrous ash glaze, and Kiseto, which has a moist, deep-fried surface and is made by mixing ochre into the glaze. The former is often used for mass-produced items that imitate the celadon and white porcelain plates, bowls, and pots that were imported at the time, while the latter is shaped on a neat potter's wheel and is used for high-class dishes such as gong bowls, mukouzuke, incense burners, and vases for tea utensils. Floral patterns are stamped and dotted with copper and iron to create green and brown colors, resulting in elegant and tasteful pottery. Of course, the originality unique to the Momoyama period is well displayed in the latter, and it is still highly valued today. In the Edo period, the mainstream of the ash glaze lineage in Mino ware shifted to Ofuke glaze.

[Yoshiaki Yabe]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

桃山時代に美濃(みの)焼が製した主要な作風の一つ。黄瀬戸は文字どおり黄釉(ゆう)のかかった瀬戸焼の意味であるが、窯(かま)が隣接する美濃焼は、桃山時代には京都では広く瀬戸焼として理解されていたので、美濃焼の産であっても黄瀬戸の名称がつけられたのであろう。黄瀬戸は中世の瀬戸焼の重要な釉技であった灰釉の系譜を引く釉法を母胎にしており、製品の器もやはり瀬戸と同じくあくまで中国陶磁を母型に置いていた点に特色がある。

　黄瀬戸は光沢の強い灰釉である古瀬戸系黄瀬戸と、しっとりと潤いのある油揚げ肌を呈する釉中に黄土を混ぜた黄瀬戸とに大別される。前者は当時輸入されていた青磁や白磁の皿、碗(わん)、鉢などを写す量産品に多く使用されているが、後者は端正なろくろによって成形され、形は銅鑼(どら)鉢、向付(むこうづけ)、香炉、花生(はないけ)など茶具で占められる高級器皿であり、草花文様をスタンプで表して、銅や鉄を点じて緑彩、褐彩してきわめて瀟洒(しょうしゃ)な味わい深い雅陶につくりあげられている。むろん桃山ならではの創意は後者によく示されており、今日の声価も高い。江戸時代に入ると灰釉の系譜の主流は美濃焼では御深井(おふけ)釉へと転ずる。

［矢部良明］

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