Unglazed earthenware. It is a type of hanimono.
Usually refers to unglazed sake cups. A kawaratubo. In the old days, it was used to serve offerings at court and shrines. It is still used in Shinto rituals. The origin of the kawarage is not clear, but in the “Nihon shoki” (Chronicles of Japan, Vol. 14), we learn that in March of the 17th year of Emperor Yuso’s reign, a group of earthenware makers had the people of seven places in their domain make earthenware and presented it as a purification vessel for serving meals in the morning and evening. These were probably kaharage. The use of kaharage in later times as ritual offerings or during ceremonies is also a sign of the old ways.
According to the “Wakun Shiori” and “Sadajo Zakki,” there are several types of kaharage, including heikyosobi (smaller than sannyuiri and larger than hiraga), hirabana (about the size of a roasting pan of ashes, served in large heaps), hiraga (deep earthenware used in the passage), eimi-doki, navel-doki, white earthenware, naigomi, hiraga, and others. In “Teijo Zoki,” there are earthenware vessels of various sizes, with the smallest being called “small” and the largest “large. The word “kajirage” is used to describe a small earthenware vessel that is heavy within the three times the amount of alcohol used to fill the cup. The same is true of the “seven times” and “nine times” and smaller, and the “three times” and “five times” are not the same as “five times” and “three times”, but rather the name derived from the word “three times”, since the size of the bowl increases gradually.
The most famous places where earthenware vessels were made are Hataeda (Iwakura Hatae-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto City) and Kino (Iwakura Kino-machi, Kyoto City) in Atago-gun, Yamashiro Province, Fukakusa (Fukakusa, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto City) in Kii County, Ariji (Meiwa-machi, Taki County, Mie Prefecture) in Ise Province, and somewhat further down, Edo Imado (Taito Ward, Tokyo) in Musashi Province.
