Tanba 丹波 ware. Also called tachikui-yaki 立杭焼. One of the Six Old Kilns, a general name for a type of sueki 須恵器 ware made in Tanba (now Takigun 多紀郡 and Hikamigun 氷上郡, Hyōgo Prefecture). The main kiln in Tachikui 立杭, Kondamachi 今田町, Takigun has produced folkwares from the Kamakura period to the present. Tsubo 壷 (jars), kame 甕 (jars), suribachi 擂鉢 (earthenware mortars), and tokkuri 徳利 (sake 酒 bottles) were the most common vessel types. Usually without a glaze or with a natural glaze, the surface decoration is provided by the natural reddish black color of iron-rich Tanba clay. In the Momoyama period, artificial glazes were used for such tea vessels as *mizusashi 水指 (water jars), *hanaire 花入 (flower vases) and *chaire 茶入 (tea caddies). Tanba ware made through the Momoyama period is called ko-tanba 古丹波 (old Tanba).
