Upon entering the Yakishime – earth metamorphosis exhibition, you would not just see pieces of earthenware, but pieces that tell the tale of a civilisational evolution. What began in the 12th century as one of the unique ways of producing ceramics for basic household utilities evolved into an identity for serving Japanese cuisine and then moved on to a form of contemporary art.
Yakishime is the eponymous title of the exhibition ,which describes the art of ceramics in Japan – unglazed and fired at a temperature between 1200 and 1300, which makes the clay solidify thus so that it forms a waterproof upper layer, making it not necessary to give additional glaze.
Yakishime is a travelling exhibition presented by the Japan Foundation and the Consulate-General of Japan in Kolkata that is currently on display at the Indian Museum. Divided into three parts, the exhibition begins with the early history of the process, highlighting the technicalities of production. It then moves to one of the earliest forms of usage in a Japanese tea ceremony and household storage.
On display are wide mouthed jar, a Sueki Ware from the Heian period and a Bizen Ware from the Momoyama period. One look at the natural colour tells us that they were purely made out of blasted clay and no external agents have been used thereafter. Right from the tea pot, tea container, storage vessels, water jars, tea (mixing bowl), tea caddy, and more, one would get to see them all; and at times in various shapes and sizes. This is an indicator of the fact that not only were these utility wares practical, but also by this time, that is, the 1990s onwards, stylisation came into being.
Meandering to a time period around the 2013 when the Japanese Washoku cuisine was declared as a UNESCO Intangible cultural heritage, where it was noted that one of the identities of the cuisine was being served in Yakishime wares, the exhibition moves forward. Here one gets to witness how the wares change depending on the different kinds of cuisine they can serve. From square plate to sake cup and rice bowls and complete porcelain plate sets, one gets a vivid sense of simplistic yet artistic serving ware.
As one nears the conclusion of this narrative storytelling, one would find themselves face to face with works of art created by artists using the yakishime technique. These include decorative sculptures to models drawn from utensils. Artists on display are Ikura Takashi, Izumita Yukiya, Ohno Yoshinori, Isezaki Jun, Isesaki Koichiro, Ito Tadashi, Wada Akira and others.
Yakishime is on display at the Indian Museum, 1st Floor till December 17, 2025
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