Akae (Overglaze Enamel)

Akae (赤絵, literally “red picture”) is the general term for overglaze enamel decoration on Japanese porcelain: pigment applied on top of an already-glazed and fired piece, then fixed with a second firing at a much lower temperature, typically around 800°C. Because the color sits on top of the glaze rather than sealed beneath it, akae is more vulnerable to abrasion and repeated dishwasher or microwave use than underglaze work like sometsuke. The technique gets its name from red, one of the hardest overglaze colors to fire successfully, but in practice it covers any overglaze palette — including Kutani’s five-color gosai-de and Arita’s Kakiemon style.