Iga ware

Pottery from the Iga region of Mie Prefecture. It is believed that ancient kilns were first established in Iga Province in the Middle Ages, and they seem to have developed together with neighboring Shigaraki ware; the Osuenohira kiln in Makiyama, Iga City, Mie Prefecture, and the Goinoki kiln in Shigaraki Town, Koga City, Shiga Prefecture are well known. It was only in the Momoyama period, after the production of wabi tea ceremony utensils, or tea ware, that Iga ware began to produce pottery with its own unique characteristics. The Marubashira kiln, built in the same town as the Makiyama kiln, and a kiln believed to have been located within the castle of Iga Ueno are well known. The first documented mention of tea ware was in the Tennojiya Kaiki of 1581 (Tensho 9), and it was during the reign of Tsutsui Sadatsugu, who ruled the region at that time, and his successors Todo Takatora and Takatsugu, father and son, that the heyday was from the Momoyama to early Edo periods of Tensho, Bunroku, Keicho, Genna, and Kan'ei (1573-1644), after which it fell into rapid decline. Water jars and flower vases, made from high-quality white stoneware in the traditional clay string style that has been used since the Middle Ages and fired boldly, are particularly highly valued and can be said to symbolize the wabi aesthetic. The seventh lord of the Todo domain, Takatoyo, revived Iga ware and began producing glazed pottery that was different from that of old Iga.

The revived Iga ware is said to have begun during the Horeki era (1751-1764) when potters were invited from Seto. The same glazed pottery as that of Seto was fired, and thereafter, using techniques suited to the time such as black-brown glaze, milky white glaze, blue glaze, iron painting, blue and white porcelain, and colored painting, the area mainly produced everyday utensils, as it continues to do today.

[Yoshiaki Yabe]

"Complete Collection of Japanese Ceramics 13 Iga" edited by Seizo Hayashiya (1977, Chuokoron-Shinsha)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

三重県伊賀地方の焼物。伊賀国に古窯(こよう)が開かれたのは中世と推測され、隣接する信楽(しがらき)焼とは一体をなして展開したらしく、三重県伊賀市槇山(まきやま)にあるオスエノヒラ窯(かま)と滋賀県甲賀(こうか)市信楽町の五位ノ木窯が知られている。伊賀焼が独自の個性をもって作陶をなしたのは桃山時代に入って、わびの茶の湯の道具、いわゆる茶陶を焼造してからのちである。先の槇山窯と同じ町に築かれた丸柱窯、および伊賀上野の城内にあったと推定される窯などが知られている。茶陶の文献上の初見は1581年（天正9）の『天王寺屋会記』であり、この時期この地方を領有した筒井定次(さだつぐ)、そして交替した藤堂高虎(とうどうたかとら)・高次父子の時代、天正(てんしょう)・文禄(ぶんろく)・慶長(けいちょう)・元和(げんな)・寛永(かんえい)（1573～1644）にかかる桃山～江戸初期が最盛期で、その後は一気に凋落(ちょうらく)したらしい。白色の良質な炻器質(せっきしつ)素地を中世以来の伝統的な粘土紐(ひも)造りで成形して豪放に焼きしめた水指(みずさし)、花生(はないけ)はとくに声価が高く、わびの美意識を象徴するといえよう。藤堂第7代藩主高豊(たかとよ)は伊賀焼を再興し、古伊賀とは違った施釉陶(せゆうとう)を焼造し始めた。

　復興伊賀は瀬戸から陶工を招聘(しょうへい)し、宝暦年間（1751―1764）に始まるといわれており、瀬戸と同じ施釉陶が焼かれ、以後、黒褐釉、白濁釉、青釉、鉄絵、染付、色絵など、時世にあった技術を使って、主として日常器皿(きべい)を生産し、今日にいたる。

［矢部良明］

『林屋晴三編『日本陶磁全集 13　伊賀』（1977・中央公論社）』

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