Excavated from Yatoko Kiln, Yatoko Town, Seto City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan
13th century
Height 28.0cm, mouth diameter 5.1cm, body diameter 16.7cm, bottom diameter 8.0cm
In China, a bottle with a “thin, short head, broad shoulders, and slightly narrowed at the waist” is called a “plum bottle” (“Yunryusai’s theory”), and this shape was particularly popular in the Song dynasty. There are two types of early Kosedo vessels: straight vessels like this one and those with the shape shown in Figure 4. Both types of vessels are characterized by a long body and a diagonal rim band around the mouth.
This piece is clearly an imitation of a Song dynasty plum vase, and has a shape similar to the famous Shumu ware plum vase with black arabesque design on white ground. It is made of high refractory clay, and the clay is rolled and molded to give it a graceful shape. The joints between the mouth and the mouth part are well made use of to create a kind of decoration, which is a heartbreaking feat of skill. The firing was extremely good, and although the axis is ash-like, the vivid light green color produced by reduction, together with the flowing glaze, makes this vase stand out even more. This is one of the few fine examples of early bottles.
