National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

This is a representative example of Nara-period tricolor-glazed pottery. The reddish brown body is spotted with bright contrasting tricolor glazes of white, green, and brown. It shows the definite influence of the tricolor glazed techniques of Chinese Tang dynasty, but its shape is typical of Japanese earthenware medicine jars of the period. This indicates that imported techniques were used selectively in those days. Though the Shoso-in repository also houses some Nara-period tricolor ceramics, this set is a rare and particularly well-preserved example of its kind. It was excavated from a Nara-period (710-794) tomb in Koyaguchi-cho, Wakayama Prefecture, in 1963. It contained cremated remains. The tomb is considered to have been that of a local ruler.