About Kochi（交趾）Kochi-yaki, Kochi-ware（交趾焼）
Kochi, Kochi-ware (Cochin-ware) is described in Japanese as Kochi-yaki (交趾焼) = Kochi（交趾）+ yaki（焼）as Sansai (三彩 : sān cǎi(cn), Three-colored), Hoka (法花 : Fǎ huā(cn)), etc., which were ceramics and porcelains baked in China and Vietnam in the Cochin-china region.
Since it was brought to Japan by a marine trade ship, Kochi-ware, which was a means of trade at that time, pottery with such colors has long been known as ‘Kochi’ in Kyoto.
Kochi ware = originally Chinese low-fired glaze ceramics and porcelains.
In Kyoto, it has the meaning of copying and respecting that spirit.
Kochi-yaki (Kochi) = Kyoto’s ‘Kochi-style pottery’, or Kochi ware (Kochi-yaki) continues to be distinguished.
In the Edo period, Kyoto’s leading potters called Kochi and Kochi-yaki, and developed Chinese pottery into a Japanese style and developed it as a new pottery that suits the Japanese lifestyle.
Even after the world war two, some ‘Kochi-style pottery’ made in Japan was customarily called “Kochi-yaki” or self-proclaimed. For example, when successive Roseki are introduced in newspapers and books related to the tea ceremony, they are introduced as Kochi-yaki. Since many people are confused, we have more chances to call ourselves Kochi-yaki as a pottery of Kochi ware.
Therefore, Kochi ware is a general term for originally Chinese low-fired glaze ceramics and porcelains and Japanese Kochi-style pottery, and is used in Japanese typical dictionaries such as Kojien , which shows the types of pottery such as celadon, dyeing, and pottery techniques. It can be said that it is a general common noun listed in Japan.
Yoshinori AKAZAWA Roseki 5th
BFA, Kyoto city university of arts, Fine art (Kyoto, Japan)
Member of IAC International academy of ceramic (Switzerland, Geneva)
Member of Fine art Educational society of Kyoto city university of arts (Kyoto, Japan)
Kochi‘s basic colors and how to call them
Yoshinori AKAZAWA Roseki 5th
The classic Kochi colors are the same green, yellow, and purple colors as Sansai. And white. After World War II, Asagi became available in a stable fashion. The so-called blue color, Ruri is also called Konjo.
AKAZAWA Roseki IV (Seichu AKAZAWA)(1941-2020) : Kochi line pattern flower-vase 1970s
In Kyoto, the color varies depending on the family of potter. In modern times, there are potters who try to imitate the colors of other houses as they are. There is decency, and the family that has been passed down for generations maintains its own unique color, while refraining from changing the color slightly from other houses.
● Ao-Kochi (Green : Ao-gochi )
Seichu AKAZAWA Roseki IV (1941-2020) Ao-Kochi Hoh-oh tea-bowl (Phoenixes)
Green glaze pottery is called Midori or Ryokuyu, but in Kochi it is called Ao. Ao means blue in modern Japanese. In classical Japanese, all green was called Ao.
It seems that the color gamut from blue to green in Japan has been called Ao since ancient times, and Akazawa Roseki has called it Ao-Kochi (Ao-gochi) for generations. It is called Ao-Kochi (Ao-gochi) in conversation in public places such as tea ceremonies.
● Ki-Kochi (Yellow : Ki-gochi)
Seichu AKAZAWA Roseki IV (1941-2020) Ki-Kochi Hoh-oh tea-bowl (Phoenixes)
The 2nd and 3rd generation Roseki painstakingly devised a compound based on the yellow prototype that is often seen in Kyoto today. The yellow color changes depending on the firing method, so it takes a lot of patience to provide a consistent Roseki yellow color even with the same material. Materials change over time. Meiji, Taisho, Showa, Heisei and glaze evolve. Shuzo Akazawa Roseki Ⅱ was raised by everyone as Roseki of Ki-kochi by exhibiting at public exhibitions and receiving awards.
● Murasaki-Kochi (Purple : Murasaki-gochi)
AKAZAWA Roseki II (1897-1976) Murasaki-Kochi Dragon porcelain bowl
Due to the nature of purple glaze, it is easy to blow bubbles, and small holes called pinholes tend to remain after firing, so it has long been avoided as a troublesome color. Roseki II was one of the first to introduce an electric kiln in Kyoto and successfully used it to successfully reproduce Murasaki-Kochi.
● Shiro-Kochi (White : Shiro-gochi)
SEICHU AKAZAWA ROSEKI IV (1941-2020) Shiro-Kochi Araiso mizusashi (fresh-water container for tea-ceremony)
Kochi, a glaze formulated with white pigments, or a clear glaze.
● Asagi-Kochi (Turquise : Asagi-gochi)
Seichu AKAZAWA Roseki IV (1941-2020) Asagi-Kochi Seigaiha tea-bowl
Asagi is Japanese for the so-called turquoise color. Copper is the same coloring material as Ao-Kochi (green), but if the glaze is acidic, it becomes Ao-Kochi (green), and if it is alkaline, it becomes Asagi-Kochi (turquoise blue). After the war, it became possible to fire stably, and now it is the basic color. Asagi-Kochi is also sometimes called Ao-Kochi.
● Ruri-Kochi (Blue : Ruri-gochi)
Yoshinori AKAZAWA Roseki V (1971- ) Ruri-Kochi Tea-bowl ( Star Festival : Dragon dance )
Cobalt is the basis for color development from vivid blue to indigo. It is characterized by various lapis lazuli colors depending on the combination with other pigments that are produced. Blue in our modern Japanese is called Ruri in archaic language.
● Moegi-Kochi (Yellow Green : Moegi-gochi)
Yoshinori AKAZAWA Roseki V (1971- ) Moegi-Kochi Rabbit Incence Box
Moegi is a yellow-green color. In other words, if it is a mixture of yellow and green, or if it is light green, it is sometimes called Moegi.
Last Updated on 2024-03-31 by roseki