Toki (Pottery / Earthenware & Stoneware)

Toki (陶器) is the general Japanese term for pottery: ceramics thrown or shaped from natural clay and fired at comparatively low temperatures, typically 700–1,250°C, though the unglazed, high-fired yaki-shime style used by Bizen and some other regions pushes as high as 1,300°C without becoming porcelain, since the natural clay body, not the temperature alone, is what keeps it in the toki category. The clay body stays slightly porous after firing, which gives toki its characteristic weight, warmth, and dull “thud” when tapped, rather than the high ring of porcelain. Most of Japan’s rustic regional styles — Bizen, Shigaraki, Mashiko, Hagi, and Karatsu among them — are toki. Because the body is porous, some toki, particularly pieces meant to hold liquid, benefits from seasoning (metome) before first use, and toki is generally better suited to hand washing than a dishwasher.