Anagama Kilns are a special type of wood fired kilns used in Japan, Korea and China. I recently participated in an Anagama firing, and documented it. This paper will serve as an account of the firing and a primer on the technical aspects of the kiln. I shall also put in context the various techniques used to achieve certain results, and shall explain the firing from the viewpoint of aesthetic theory, process and historical background. As such, I shall delve in kiln design considerations, glaze chemistry, firing schedules, zen aesthetics, and cross cultural transmission of forms, in terms of studio pottery. Finally, I shall explore certain glaze effects formed by ash, with respect to Japanese and Western aesthetics.

Contextualisation of Potters Pyromania: Technical and Historical Contextualisation of An Anagama Firing.