Bumblebee マルハナバチ（丸花蜂）

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Bumble bees are found primarily in the Northern Hemisphere—across North America, Europe, and Asia—as well as parts of South America. Around sixteen species are known to exist in Japan.

In Japan they're called 'maruhana bachi,' which translates to 'round (or chubby) flower bee.' They're also called 'flying stuffed animals'—both make perfect sense to me.

Glaze and Firing Determines the Color 釉薬と焼成

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These dishes are similar in size, shape, and origin, but their colors vary due to the distinct glazes and firing processes used:

• White (Picture 1): White glaze + reduction firing
• Brown (Picture 2): Celadon glaze + oxidation firing
• Blue (Picture 3): Celadon glaze + reduction firing

Sufficient oxygen in the kiln, which allows 'oxidation firing,' produces brownish celadon like the second picture, while insufficient oxygen, leading to 'reduction firing,' produces white and celadon blue/green colors.

Although humans can decide which glaze to use, they cannot, after all, completely control the color of the porcelain.

1. White dish with lotus flowers, Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century, China
白磁刻花蓮花文皿

2. Celadon dish with lotus flowers, Southern dynasties, 5th-6th century, China
青磁蓮弁文盤

3. Celadon dish, Northern Song dynasty, 11th-12th century, China
青磁盤

Posted on 3/3/2020

Revised on 10/31/2026

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東京国立博物館所蔵の皿です。どれも丸皿（中には模様もほぼ同じものもある）ですが色が違うのはどうして？調べてみました。

写真1　白磁           =   透明な釉薬 + 還元焼成

写真2　米色青磁    =   青緑釉 + 酸化焼成

写真3　青磁           =   青緑釉 + 還元焼成

「還元焼成」だと、窯の中の酸素が少な目なので青色や白色になります。

「酸化焼成」だと、酸素たっぷりなので黄褐色になるそうです。

使う釉薬を決めるのは人間だけど、色を決めるのは結局、神様なんですね（笑）。

初稿　3/3/2020

改訂　10/31/2026

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Gourd-shaped Jingdezhen Wucai Vase 五彩金襴手瓢形大瓶

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Standing over 60 cm tall, this gourd-shaped porcelain vase is a piece of Jingdezhen wucai (five-color) overglaze enamel and gold pottery. Created in 16th-century Ming dynasty China, it is now housed at the Tokyo National Museum.

Figure of Juro (God of Longevity) 色絵寿老置物

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Housed at the Tokyo National Museum, this is a mid-19th-century pottery figure of Jurō—the god of longevity and one of the Seven Lucky Gods—made by the prominent Kyoto ware potter Ninnami Dōhachi (1783–1855), who is well-known for his tea ceremony wares.

To learn more about the Japanese Seven Lucky Gods, check out the table below the photo!

Cambodian Statue With Thumb Up イエーイ！な仏像

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"I have a lot of money. Money follows me like chicks do! I'm cool and have everything! YAY!!" ...said this 10cm-tall statue. Or was it just my hallucination?

Goryeo Celadon and Colors of Japan 高麗青磁は青？緑？

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Housed at the Tokyo National Museum, these Goryeo dynasty (918–1392) wares grew in production from the mid-10th century and reached their artistic peak in the 12th century. Their luminous jade-green glaze, paired with delicate carved and inlaid decoration, is breathtakingly elegant.

Jingdezhen Dish 黄釉蓮花形皿

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Housed at the Tokyo National Museum, this Jingdezhen dish was crafted with a yellow glaze during China's Qing dynasty. Its bright yellow is so beautiful and powerful that it always reminds me of the yellow tulips in the second photo. Such vibrant tulips always make me feel happier, and they may have also inspired potters during the Ming and Qing dynasties to recreate such a lively yellow in their ceramics.

Chakrasamvara in Union With Consort or Yab-Yum チャクラサンヴァラ父母仏立像

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Nepalese and Tibetan deities are remarkably open to love and less ascetic, aren't they? A prime example is Chakrasamvara—a wrathful deity—and his consort. Their unabashed expression of love is often surprising to Japanese people.

Thousand-Armed Bodhisattva Kannon 千手観音菩薩坐像

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I know it’s a bit disrespectful, but the statue's arms look like Hattifatteners to me. This is a 14th-century thousand-armed Kannon bodhisattva housed at the Tokyo National Museum. It has 42 arms in total—including the two main ones—meant to help people in need.

Celadon Lid Rest for Tea Ceremony 青磁三閑人蓋置

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This 17th-century, 3cm-tall celadon kettle lid rest is shaped like three figures. It was made during China's Ming dynasty and is now housed at the Tokyo National Museum. Kettle lid rests of this type—featuring three children holding hands—were a favorite of the tea master Sen no Rikyu (1522–1591).

Incense Burner - Lions Smile in Asia 織部獅子鈕香炉 - 獅子はアジアで笑う

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This is an Oribe-style Mino ware incense burner with a lion-shaped knob, housed at the Tokyo National Museum. Its green glaze is beautiful, isn't it? Created in 1612, Mino ware refers to pottery produced in Mino Province (present-day Gifu Prefecture), while the Oribe style is a design tradition that emerged in the late 16th century under the guidance of Furuta Oribe.