Japanese porcelain in the context of "Hard-paste porcelain"

Hirado ware (Japanese: 平戸焼, Hepburn: hirado-yaki) is a type of Japanese porcelain mostly made at kilns at Mikawachi, Sasebo, Nagasaki, and it is therefore also known as Mikawachi ware (三川内焼, Mikawachi-yaki). It was made in the former feudal Hirado Domain, which owned the kilns, and was responsible for establishing and directing their production.

It is known mainly for its sometsuke underglaze cobalt blue and white porcelain, with the amount of blue often low, showing off the detailed modelling and the very fine white colour of the porcelain. This has a finer grain than most Japanese porcelains, allowing fine detail and thin and complicated openwork in forms. It was used for tablewares, but was especially noted for small figures and structured objects such as incense burners and brush rests. It developed supplying the domestic Japanese market in the 18th century, in the gap between the two main periods of Japanese export porcelain, and produced much of the best Japanese porcelain of the late 18th century and early 19th century. When large-scale exports resumed, it had a good share in the trade.