Jar with Broken Rim

Potters began creating stoneware vessels at the Tokoname kilns by the Heian period (794–1185). Most of these were storage jars, urns, bowls, teapots, and other utilitarian objects often featuring natural ash glaze. By the 1200s, when this jar was made, Tokoname pottery was in use throughout the Japanese islands. Tokoname is one of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns, which are historic areas of pottery production. Tokoname was the leading site for the production of unglazed pottery.