【Treasures of Fukuoka】No.1 The Red Jar

 「松風の音をかなづる松の木の幾千代移りこの赤き壺」　　澤田藤一郎

"For many years, this red jar heard the sound of the wind blowing through the pine trees." 

By Touichiro Sawada

This jar's dominant features are “red and beautiful.” According to the explanation on the designation of the important cultural asset by Agency for Cultural Affairs, this jar is the first example of finished pottery in the Yayoi period. Many Yayoi earthenware in vivid red color were found in the ruins in Fukuoka, but this one is exceptionally beautiful. The entire body is coated with a paint called “bengala”, which is a red paint created from oxidized iron. Upon closer inspection, you can find several sets of about ten lines inscribed from the mouth to the bottom.　These faint lines are called “anmon” and they were inscribed using a spatula. The lines were painted with bengala to make it look like a motif.

This red jar is gracefully shaped, from the mouth shaped like the morning glory, to the high waist, tapering down to a small bottom. It may look unstable but, as a whole, the jar was smartly and perfectly created.

The jar displays characteristics of earthenware created in agricultural countries all over the world. The jar has almost no fractures. It has also retained its original red color from 2000 years ago, compared to the color of bengala on other Yayoi earthenware that have either faded or diminished underground.

This red jar is said to have been unearthed from a site in Shironohara in the Nishi Ward. The details of the discovery is not known, but seeing that the surface of the earthenware has almost no damage, we assume that this earthenware must have been found in sandy soil. We can only speculate that it was discovered in Shironohara district because the Ikeno Matsubara pine bush grows in sandy soil there. 

The jar was designated as an important cultural property of Japan in 1967 for its almost flawless condition and graceful figure. It was later donated to Fukuoka City in 1982. Its former owner was Toichiro Sawada; the pot was donated by his wife Hisa, after her husband passed away. 

Toichiro Sawada was born in Iwate prefecture in 1985 and went to Hanamaki Junior High School. One of his classmates was Kenji Miyazawa, a legendary story teller of Japan. Sawada later proceeded to the medical department of Kyushu Imperial University and seed as a professor at Taipei Imperial University and Kyushu Imperial University.

Toichiro Sawada was also a famous poet, and he wrote a series of poems named “Red Jar.” The quote at the first part of this essay is from one of these poems.

求めたる弥生の小壺の素朴さを紫檀の台にのせてながむる

"I placed this red jar from the Yayoi period on red sandalwood to emphasize its elegant simplicity."