Excavated from Dotorihata, Tokoname City, Aichi Prefecture
12th century
Height 24.5cm, mouth diameter 10.4cm, body diameter 17.9cm, bottom diameter 9.7cm
Tokoname City Ceramic Research Institute
This short, upright, wide-mouthed jar with three sunken lines on the body is a type of vessel unique to Ko-Joname. It was probably produced as a variant of the wide-mouth jar made of ash-glazed pottery. It is said that the body is divided by three chink lines and the neck is added to represent the idea of the five-ringed wheel, but it is not clear how it originated. There is no doubt that it was a vessel with religious significance, as it has been used as a bone ware and has been found as a companion piece to sutra mounds in many cases. This piece is made of iron-rich clay, and was fired with reduction firing, creating a mysterious atmosphere with its black surface and flowing ash glaze. This is one of the earliest examples of three-stripe jars, probably in the first half of the 12th century. It is one of the best of the many san-suji jars.
