A method of firing a vessel with the mouth down. Also called fuse-zukuri. The practice of fuseyaki has existed since ancient times and is not uncommon in China and Korea. In Japan, fuseyaki was used until Seto’s Fujishiro I entered the Song dynasty (960-1279) and introduced saggars, which were flattened at the mouth. In fact, however, it is not uncommon for large, crude earthenware pieces to be unglazed on the top rim for the sake of convenience in stacking them for firing in a kiln, as is often the case with black-glazed large vases from Satsuma Nayogawa. When the first order for coffee bowls was received at the end of the Edo period (1603-1867), the artist finally devised fuseyaki after painstaking research in the Seto area. Coffee cups are thin and have hands, so if they are not fuseyaki fired, they lose their balance in the kiln due to the weight of the hands, and they always become oval in shape. Since there is no glaze on the rim of the cup, the defects are compensated for by rubbing it with a machine after firing, or by applying gold. In other words, since fuseyaki reduces deviations during firing, some Kutani ware and other ordinary teacups are also fuseyaki ware. (Pottery Shukai, Chawaniki Bengokushu, Essence of Ceramic Civilization)
