Hagi ware

Pottery made in Hagi and Nagato cities in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Its origins date back to the Tensho to Keicho era (1573-1615) of the Momoyama period, when Mori Terumoto, the lord of Hagi, ordered the brothers Ri Shakko and Ri Gyong, potters who had immigrated from the Korean peninsula, to open a kiln for his official use. The kiln was built in Matsumoto village Nakanokura (present-day Chinto, Hagi city), on the eastern outskirts of the slope below Hagi Castle, and this line of kilns is called Matsumoto Hagi, with Ri Gyong considered to be the founder of the lineage. In contrast, the lineage that was established in 1653 (Shoo 2) by the family of Ri Shakko, the elder brother, in Sonose, Fukagawa village (present-day Nagato city), is called Fukagawa Hagi. The name Hagi ware appears in the book "Kefukigusa" written by Shigeyori Matsue, and we can see that it was known in the capital. In 1663 (Kanbun 3), Miwa Kyusetsu established the Miwa kiln in Matsumoto, and the two schools of ware, Matsumoto and Fukagawa, have coexisted to this day.

In the excavation of Sakagama in Hagi, Matsumoto, which is believed to be an early Hagi ware kiln, a large amount of everyday utensils was unearthed in addition to tea ware such as tea bowls, tea caddies, and flower vases. The glaze also included brown glazes, which is quite different from today's Hagi ware, and shows a wide variety of pottery production, similar to Karatsu ware and Takatori ware, suggesting that although it was a feudal kiln, it also produced pottery for the general public.

It is believed that the style of tea pottery, which uses Daido clay excavated in Hofu and is covered with a unique milky white glaze made of straw ash, was established in the early Edo period, and was praised among tea masters as "First pleasure, second Hagi...". Tea bowls covered with loquat-colored glaze are full of a wabi atmosphere, and are commonly known as "the seven changes of Hagi" because the color of the glaze changes the more they are used. Many of the relics are copies of Goryeo tea bowls such as Mishima, Kohiki, Hakeme, Ido, and Kumagawa, and are characterized by their high bases.

[Yoshiaki Yabe]

"Complete Collection of Japanese Ceramics 18: Hagi and Others" edited by Seizo Hayashiya (1978, Chuokoron-Shinsha) " "Complete Collection of World Ceramics 7: Edo 2" (1980, Shogakukan)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

山口県萩市・長門(ながと)市で焼造される陶器。桃山時代の天正(てんしょう)～慶長(けいちょう)年間（1573～1615）、萩藩主毛利輝元(てるもと)が、朝鮮半島から帰化した陶工の李勺光(りしゃっこう)・李敬兄弟に御用窯として開窯させたのを発祥とする。萩城下坂下の東郊松本村中之倉（現萩市椿東(ちんとう)）に築窯したので、この系列窯を松本萩といい、李敬を陶祖とした。これに対して兄勺光の一族が1653年（承応2）深川(ふかわ)村三之瀬(そうのせ)（現長門市）に分窯した系統を深川萩という。松江重頼(しげより)著『毛吹草(けふきぐさ)』に萩焼の名がみえ、都でもその存在が知られていたことがうかがえる。1663年（寛文3）三輪休雪(みわきゅうせつ)が松本に三輪窯をおこし、松本・深川の二系統が併存して今日に至っている。

　初期萩焼窯とされる松本萩の坂窯の発掘では、茶碗(ちゃわん)、茶入、花いけなどの茶陶に加え、大量の日常雑器が出土している。また釉(うわぐすり)にも褐釉(かつゆう)が加わって今日の萩焼とは大きく異なり、唐津(からつ)焼や高取(たかとり)焼と同様に多様な作陶内容を示しており、藩窯でありながら一般庶民向け焼物も生産対象にあったことが推察できる。

　防府(ほうふ)で出土する大道土(だいどうつち)を用い、特有の藁(わら)灰質の白濁釉をかけた、茶陶としての作風が樹立したのは江戸前期と思われ、茶人の間では「一楽、二萩……」と賞玩(しょうがん)された。びわ色の釉をかけた茶碗はわびの風情に満ち、使うほどに釉色が変化するところから「萩の七化け」の俗称がある。遺品には三島(みしま)・粉引(こひき)・刷毛目(はけめ)・井戸・熊川(こもがい)などの高麗(こうらい)茶碗を写したものが多く、割高台(わりこうだい)にも特色がある。

［矢部良明］

『林屋晴三編『日本陶磁全集18　萩他』（1978・中央公論社）』▽『『世界陶磁全集7　江戸2』（1980・小学館）』

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