2-742-258 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Storage Jar, 1500s. Shigaraki ware is produced in the Shigaraki area of Shiga prefecture to the east of Kyoto in the Kansai region. The clay from Shigaraki has a warm orange colour. When fired in an anagama kiln, a type of wood-fired kiln that uses the oxidization process, the free flow of air allows for the appearance of the ash and mineral glazes that characterize the works. Shigaraki storage jars like this one, a tsubo, have been popular for storing tea leaves since the Muromachi period.