Excavated from Kiln No. 3, Obara Kaminagasa, Echizen-cho, Niu-gun, Fukui
12th century
Height 23.4cm, Mouth diameter 11.0cm, Body diameter 18.3cm, Bottom diameter 7.9cm
Fukui Prefectural Ceramic Museum
This piece was discovered inside the kiln of Kaminagasa Kiln No. 3, which was excavated in the summer of 1975, and is the first commemorative piece that proves that Echizen kilns fired san-suji pots. The discovery of this Echizen san-suji jar is proof of the relationship between the Ko-Echizen kilns and the Tokai kilns, which had previously been pointed out based on the kiln structure. In addition, the rounded, outward-folding mouth rim is different from that of the Tokoname ware, and is rather close to that of the Sanage ware, which raises a new question regarding the relationship with the Sanage ware. The upright, thick neck and the single rather than multiple lines of three-stripe pattern on the body suggest a form similar to Tokoname three-stripe vases of the late 12th century. Thermal remanent magnetic orientation measurements have dated this Kaminagasa Kiln No. 3 to 1190 ± 30 years, providing evidence for a late Heian period production date.
