Footed jar decorated with miniature jars and animal heads

Haji and Sue Ceramics in the Kofun period (250–552)

Two ceramic traditions flourished during the Kofun period: Haji ware and Sue ware. Each type was made for both ceremonial and everyday uses, and both have been found within tombs of the period.

Haji ware reflects the continuation of earlier pottery-making traditions. Formed by hand using a coil method similar to earlier Yayoi ceramics, Haji ware is made of a finer clay that enabled the potters to make vessels with thinner walls. Some vessels are covered with an iron-rich mixture of clay and water (slip) that was polished to obtain a rich reddish finish. Haji ware was fired in oxygen-rich atmospheres, at temperatures below 1000° Celsius.

Sue ware is a wheel-thrown stoneware fired at a high temperature using technology introduced from the Korean peninsula, such as tunnel kilns. Its colors, ranging from light gray to black, were produced in a reduction (lowered oxygen) atmosphere by controlling air flow into the kiln’s firing chamber and introducing damp foliage at the end of the firing cycle. Natural glazes on some Sue vessels are the result of wood ash falling on the clay body during firing. This photograph shows an example of a Korean prototype for Sue ware, which can be seen with others in gallery 21.

This high-footed jar is an example of Sue ware made for ceremonial use. Pieced together from multiple wheel-thrown parts, its spherical body is set on a high, flaring base. Around the body, four miniature jars alternate with four animal heads. On the tall foot below, three tiers of rectangular and triangular cutouts promoted even heat distribution during the firing process, thereby preventing breakage or distortion of the vessel shape. Traces of glaze on one side are from falling ash that fused to the clay body during firing.