Satsuma ware - Satsuma yaki

A general term for early modern pottery in Kagoshima Prefecture (the Satsuma and Osumi regions of the former Shimazu clan). There was no pottery production in this area in the Middle Ages, but it was Shimazu Yoshihiro, the feudal lord, who gave the area the opportunity to open pottery kilns. After Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invasion of Korea, potters from the Korean peninsula were invited to the area and started production. Later documents remaining in the area state that potters arrived in either 1595 (4th year of Bunroku) or 1598 (3rd year of Keicho). The potters landed in Kushikino, Ichiki, Kagoshima, and other areas, and later formed four major lineages of kilns in the area: Tateno, Naeshirogawa, Nishimochida, and Ryumonji.

The Tateno lineage has kiln sites scattered in the northeast of present-day Kagoshima City, but it began with the Uto kiln, which Shimazu Yoshihiro ordered potter Kinkai (Hoshiyama Chuji) to open in Uto, Chosa Village, Aira County (present-day Aira City), and produced many tea utensils called Kochosa. The early Tateno works, along with Kochosa, are called Kosatsuma, and the Tateno kiln became the mainstream of Satsuma ware. The Naeshirogawa lineage has kiln sites scattered around Miyama, Higashiichiki Town, Hioki City, and the Kushikino kiln and Motoyashiki kiln were built around 1605 (Keicho 10) by naturalized potter Bokuhei. The Ryumonji lineage traces its roots back to the potter Ben Hochu, and is said to have opened the Ryumonji kiln in what is now the eastern part of Aira City during the Genroku period (1688-1704). The Ryumonji kiln and Naeshirogawa kiln produced many black-colored everyday items, and are still active today in traditional folk art pottery. The Nishimochida lineage kilns are located in the southern part of Aira City, and are known as Genryuin ware, and are said to have been built by the founder, Ono Mototachi, in 1663 (Kanbun 3).

Satsuma ware was originally made using a devitrified white glaze known as white Satsuma, and a black-brown glaze with an iron-colored finish known as black Satsuma, to produce tea utensils (water jars, tea bowls, tea containers, etc.) and everyday tableware. However, at the end of the Edo period, when Tateno Kiln introduced colored painting techniques from Kyoto and began producing Satsuma brocade, the main style of production changed dramatically, and colored painting became popular. At Hirasa Kiln (present-day Satsumasendai City), which opened in 1776 (An'ei 5), porcelain is now being produced using Imari ware pottery techniques.

[Yoshiaki Yabe]

"Kiichi Okada, 'The Great Ceramics Series 16: Satsuma' (1972, Heibonsha)" ▽ "Kiichi Okada, editor, 'Japanese Ceramics 16: Satsuma' (1976, Kodansha)"

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鹿児島県（旧島津藩の薩摩・大隅地方）の近世陶芸の総称。この地は中世においてまったく製陶活動が行われなかったが、陶器窯(よう)を開く契機を与えたのは領主島津義弘(よしひろ)で、豊臣(とよとみ)秀吉の朝鮮出兵後、朝鮮半島の陶工を招致して開始された。当地に残る後世の文献では、陶工の渡来は1595年（文禄4）説と、1598年（慶長3）説とに分かれている。陶工は串木野(くしきの)、市来(いちき)、鹿児島などに上陸し、のちに竪野(たての)系、苗代川(なえしろがわ)系、西餅田(にしもちだ)系、竜門司(りゅうもんじ)系と大きく4地域の窯(かま)の系譜を形成していった。

　竪野系は現在の鹿児島市の北東方に窯址(ようし)が点在するが、島津義弘が陶工金海（星山仲次(ちゅうじ)）に命じて姶良(あいら)郡帖佐(ちょうさ)村宇都(うと)（現、姶良市）に開いた宇都窯(うとよう)に始まり、古帖佐とよばれる茶器を多く焼造した。また竪野初期の作は古帖佐とともに古薩摩といわれ、竪野窯は薩摩焼の主流をなした。苗代川系は日置(ひおき)市東市来(ひがしいちき)町美山近くに古窯址が散在しており、帰化陶工朴平意(ぼくへいい)を中心として1605年（慶長10）ごろ串木野窯、元屋敷窯を築窯。竜門司系は陶工卞芳仲(べんほうちゅう)を陶祖とし、元禄(げんろく)年間（1688～1704）に現在の姶良市東部に竜門司窯を開いたといわれる。竜門司窯、苗代川窯は黒物(くろもん)の日用品を多く手がけ、今日も伝統的な民芸陶器で活動している。西餅田系諸窯は姶良市南部に展開し、一名元立院(げんりゅういん)焼の名で知られ、陶祖の小野元立が1663年（寛文3）に築窯したと伝えられる。

　薩摩焼は、俗に白薩摩とよばれる失透白釉(ゆう)と、黒薩摩とよばれる鉄呈色の黒褐釉を用いて、茶具（水指、茶碗(ちゃわん)、茶入れなど）と日常飲食器を焼いていたが、江戸末期、竪野窯が京都から色絵技法を導入して薩摩金襴手(きんらんで)を始めてから、主力の作風は一変し、色絵が人気を博し、1776年（安永5）に開かれたという平佐(ひらさ)窯（現、薩摩川内(せんだい)市）では、伊万里(いまり)焼の陶技を受けて磁器が焼造されている。

［矢部良明］

『岡田喜一著『陶磁大系16　薩摩』（1972・平凡社）』▽『岡田喜一編著『日本のやきもの16　薩摩』（1976・講談社）』

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