Rakuzan-yaki is a kiln located in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture. There is also Rakuyama-yaki in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, but they are completely unrelated. The history of Rakuyama-yaki in Matsuyama City, Ehime Prefecture is long, and it is said to have started in 1678 when Kurasaki Gonpei founded the kiln under the order of Matsudaira Tsunataka, the second lord of the Matsuyama Domain.
Later, Gonpei was impressed by the haiku "Ana chilly, kare ka isoge, kare ka isoge, frost crab" composed by Matsudaira Sadanaga, the third lord of the Matsuyama domain, and began to include a crab pattern on his works.
From this point on, Tenjin crabs began to be dug into Rakuzan-yaki. Rakuzan-yaki was the Oniwa-yaki of the Matsuyama domain, but after the Meiji era (1868-1912) and the abolition of the domain, it became a private kiln. The kiln was continued until the third generation of Tamai Rakuzan (who passed away in 1990), but there are no successors now, and the kiln is closed.
Most pieces of Rakuzan ware are decorated with Tenjin crabs, which is the most distinctive feature of the pottery. Historically, Leshan ware was the first to use the Tenjin crab motif, so Niroku ware and Suigetsu ware may have been influenced by Leshan ware.
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