Outline of the exhibition

Celadon ware (seiji in Japanese) is porcelain that is coated with a glaze containing an iron oxide colorant and then reduction fired (fired in an oxygen-starved kiln) to produce blue or green coloring. Celadon ware was first produced in China more than 3000 years ago, and despite the name actually comes in a range of colors from turquoise through to jade.
Later, during the Yuan dynasty (14th century), Chinese ceramicists at the Jingdezhen kilns developed blue-and-white qinghua ware, which was made by painting designs with cobalt oxide paint on white porcelain and applying a coat of transparent glaze over the top before firing at temperatures of between 1300 and 1350°C. This style of porcelain quickly gathered strength and came to dominate the ceramics world. Qinghua is the Chinese name for this style, while in Japan the term sometsuke was coined after the indigo-dying technique known as aisome.
On the Korean peninsula and in Japan, ceramicists developed their own techniques for producing both celadon and sometsuke ware while continuing to be influenced by China.
Perfected slowly over many long years, celadon ware is restful and deep. Reaching its full potential in a relatively short space of time given the long history of ceramics, sometsuke ware, on the other hand, is fresh and intense. Both have had an impact that is both broad and deep not only in their birthplace of China, but west as far as Europe and east as far as Japan. This exhibition features items from the museum's collection and is designed to afford visitors an insight into the birth and development of celadon and sometsuke ware as well as such things as the difference in coloring between the two styles.

―　Celadon ware　―
Celadon, pear-shaped vase. Long-quan ware. Yuan dynasty. 14th century.	Celadon bowl with inlaid birds and plants design. Koryo dynasty. 13th century.
Leaf-shaped celadon dish with three feet, decorated with morning-glory in underglaze blue. Imari ware. Edo period. The second half of the 17th century.	Celadon vase with two handles the Japanese bellflower-shaped mouth. Nabeshima ware. Edo period. Late 17th century.
―　blue-and-white ware　―
Foliated dish, decorated with floral scroll in white against underglaze blue ground. Jing-de zhen ware. Yuan dynasty.14th century.	Jar, decorated with dragon flying among clouds in underglaze blue. Yi dynasty. 18th-19th century.
Water jar, Mizusashi, decorated with Chinese lion-dog and floral scroll design in underglaze blue. Imari ware. Edo period. The second half of the 17th century.	Dish, decorated with bamboo design in underglaze blue. Nabeshima ware. Edo period. Late 17th-early 18th century.