Ru ware is a type of celadon ware produced in the Song dynasty (960-1279) in the Linye County area of Henan Province, China. Olive-green celadon porcelain, which is called northern celadon in Europe and the United States, was once referred to as Ru ware in Japan, but this understanding is half-right and half-wrong. This is because, while some of this type of northern celadon should be attributed to Ru ware, many of them are thought to have originated from other northern kilns. In particular, our research in China revealed that among the celadon wares called Ru ware in Japan, the most outstanding handles with single-cut carving patterns were mainly produced at the Yaozhou kiln in Shaanxi Province. According to the theory of Feng Chi-Ming, who has been conducting these investigations, some of the northern celadon pieces that should be attributed to Ru ware are hands with molded patterns, but it seems impossible to obtain an accurate understanding of this theory from our knowledge, which does not cover the details of the postwar investigations. A further difficulty related to the Ru kiln is that of the Ru Guan kiln, see the same section.
