Travel edition: Japanese Wood-fired Shigaraki Leaf-shaped Plate
A wood-fired, unglazed leaf-shaped plate by Japanese ceramic artist Kiyoko Kohyama, hand-formed with an irregular outline and a shallow, gently curved profile. The naturalistic shape is emphasized by fine incised lines across the interior, suggesting the veins and structure of a leaf without becoming overtly representational.
The warm, earthy brown surface is enriched by natural ash and flame effects from the wood firing, with subtle tonal variations and lighter areas emerging across the clay body. Rather than relying on an applied glaze, the surface retains the direct character of the fired clay, giving the piece a tactile, elemental quality. Its uneven rim and three small feet further emphasize the handmade nature of the work.
Quiet and organic, the plate balances functional pottery with sculptural form, reflecting Kohyama’s sensitivity to clay, fire, and the expressive possibilities of traditional wood firing.
Dimensions: W 7.25" x L 5.25" x H .5"
Unglazed ceramic.
About Kiyoko Kohyama: Kiyoko Kohyama, also romanized as Kiyoko Koyama, was an important Japanese ceramic artist associated with Shigaraki, one of Japan’s historic pottery centers. Born in Nagasaki Prefecture, she moved with her family to Shigaraki during the wartime period and became deeply interested in the area’s ancient kiln sites and archaeological ceramic fragments. Those discoveries helped shape her lifelong interest in reviving the natural surfaces and firing methods of early Shigaraki ware.
Kohyama became particularly known for working with anagama, traditional wood-fired tunnel kilns in which prolonged firing allows wood ash and flame to interact directly with the clay. Rather than relying primarily on applied glaze, she pursued surfaces created through the firing itself—earthy color, ash deposits, flashing and irregular textures produced by clay, heat and fire. She established her own kiln and became one of the notable women working in a field that, especially at the time, was heavily male-dominated.
Her importance also extends beyond her own ceramics. Kohyama trained younger potters—ceramist Kazue Tsukuda, for example, apprenticed with her for two years—and became part of a generation of Japanese women who expanded the possibilities for women working independently with demanding wood-firing traditions.
Her life later became widely known through her advocacy for bone-marrow donation after her son developed leukemia. Her story inspired the Japanese feature film Hi-bi: Days of Fire, released in 2005, in which actress Yuko Tanaka portrayed Kohyama.
