Excavated from Noma, Mihama-cho, Chita-gun, Aichi
13th century
Height 20.0cm, Bore 11.0cm, Body 18.0cm, Bottom 8.0cm
Tokoname City Ceramic Art Research Institute
This jar was excavated from the site of one of the old kilns in Noma in the spring of 1951. This wide-mouthed jar has a similar form to a san-suji jar, with a slightly stout shoulder and a small, slender body, and should be dated to the middle of the Kamakura period. It is made of rolled-up clay, and the molding is not very skillful. The distinctive feature of this jar is the carving on the four sides of the shoulder, which appears to be a Buddhist image or a monk’s figure. The use of unrestrained enclosure and simple line drawings beautifully depict a seated human figure. This is an extremely rare piece, probably made for religious purposes. There is a large jar from the Kamakura period of the Noto Iwakura-ji Temple that is engraved with similar figures, and it is thought that there is something in common between the two.
