
Most raku ware, where the final decoration is partly random, is in this tradition. Many pieces are also related to the Japanese tea ceremony and embody the aesthetic principles of wabi-sabi ("austerity-rust/patina"). This relates to Zen Buddhism and many of the greatest masters were priests, especially in early periods. On the one hand, there is a tradition of very simple and roughly finished pottery, mostly in earthenware and using a muted palette of earth colours. Japanese pottery is distinguished by two polarised aesthetic traditions. In the 20th century, a modern ceramics industry (e.g., Noritake and Toto Ltd.) grew up. Since the mid-17th century when Japan started to industrialize, high-quality standard wares produced in factories became popular exports to Europe. Japan transformed and translated the Chinese and Korean prototypes into a uniquely Japanese creation, and the result was distinctly Japanese in character. Since the 4th century, Japanese ceramics have often been influenced by Chinese and Korean pottery. Another characteristically Japanese aspect of the art is the continuing popularity of unglazed high-fired stoneware even after porcelain became popular. Japanese anagama kilns also have flourished through the ages, and their influence weighs with that of the potters. Hon'ami Kōetsu, Ogata Kenzan, and Aoki Mokubei. Japanese ceramic history records distinguished many potter names, and some were artist-potters, e.g. Japan is further distinguished by the unusual esteem that ceramics holds within its artistic tradition, owing to the enduring popularity of the tea ceremony. Earthenwares were created as early as the Jōmon period (10,500–300 BC), giving Japan one of the oldest ceramic traditions in the world. Japan has an exceptionally long and successful history of ceramic production.

Kilns have produced earthenware, pottery, stoneware, glazed pottery, glazed stoneware, porcelain, and blue-and-white ware. Pottery and porcelain ( 陶磁器, tōjiki, also 焼きもの yakimono, or 陶芸 tōgei), is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Tea-leaf jar with a design of wisteria by Nonomura Ninsei, Edo period (National Treasure)
