Satsuma-yaki

Ornate gilded pottery from Kagoshima, historically exported worldwide.

Satsuma-yaki is a ceramic tradition from Kagoshima Prefecture (formerly Satsuma Province), brought to Japan by Korean potters after the invasions of Korea in the 1590s. It exists in two distinct styles: shiro-Satsuma (white Satsuma), an elegant cream-colored ware with fine crackle glaze and ornate gold-and-enamel overglaze painting, and kuro-Satsuma (black Satsuma), a robust dark-glazed utilitarian ware. The ornamental white variety gained fame at the 1867 Paris Exposition and became highly sought after by Western collectors.