[Restoration Pottery Project] Characteristics of Kutani ware

Kutani ware style

blue hand

It is characterized by the use of mainly cool colors, such as deep green, yellow, navy blue, and purple, and the absence of red. Also, due to the unique coloring of Kutani ware, it is also called "Blue Kutani," and is a style from the late Edo period.

Akae and Kinrande

In contrast to Aode, this style makes use of the properties of red paint, which is resistant to bleeding, and since the background is painted red, the patterns must be drawn using different thicknesses of color, so it is a style that requires high skill. Also, a style in which vessels covered with small patterns are further painted with gold is called "Kinrande" within Akae, and it has been so called in Japan because the color scheme resembles the style of gold brocade fabric.

Iroe (colored painting)

Unlike Aode, Akae, and Kinrande, this style uses five colors: red, green, purple, ultramarine, and yellow, known as the "Kutani Five Colors." It is a coloring technique in which the five colors are freely applied thickly over lines drawn with a pigment called Gosu.