Bonsai Pots (Hachi): Shapes, Clays and Glazes

The pot (鉢, hachi) is half of a bonsai. It frames the tree as a mount frames a painting, and the finest antique pots are collected as works of art in their own right, often long after the trees they held are gone.

Japanese 鉢, hachi; 盆栽鉢, bonsai-bachi
Main centres Tokoname in Japan; Yixing in China
Antique Chinese See Kowatari, Nakawatari and Shinto
Marks See Reading Pot Chops

Shapes

Shape Japanese Suits
Rectangle Nagakaku 長角 Upright conifers with strong trunks
Rectangle with cut corners Sumikiri 隅切 A softer rectangle for mature trees
Oval Daen 楕円 Deciduous trees and forests
Round Maru 丸 Literati and flowering trees
Lobed, quatrefoil Mokkō 木瓜 Elegant flowering and deciduous trees
Hexagon, octagon Rokkaku 六角, hakkaku 八角 Cascades and semi-cascades
Tall cascade pot Kengai-bachi 懸崖鉢 Trees falling below the rim
Shallow tray Suiban-style 水盤形 Forests and rock plantings

Unglazed and glazed

Unglazed pots, yakishime 焼締, in brown, red-brown, purple, grey and black clays, are the classic partners for pines and junipers: their quiet surfaces let bark and needles lead. Glazed pots, yūyaku 釉薬, in celadon, blue, cream, green and the prized namako blue-grey, suit flowering, fruiting and deciduous trees, the glaze answering the colour of the flowers or the autumn leaves.

Feet, rims and holes

  • Feet: cloud feet, kumoashi 雲足, give lift; plain block feet give weight. A pot should stand level and lift clear of the stand.
  • Rims: inward-turned rims, uchien 内縁, and outward rims, sotoen 外縁, change the character of the pot.
  • Drainage and wire holes: proper bonsai pots have large drainage holes and small holes for tying the tree in.

Patina

Years of watering and sun give unglazed clay a soft, mineral sheen, koke or patina, much valued by collectors. Never scrub it away; a pot's age shows in its surface as much as in its form.

Collecting notes

  • Check for cracks by tapping gently: a sound pot rings, a cracked one buzzes.
  • Look underneath for the maker's chop and inside the box for inscriptions.
  • Small pots for shōhin trees are the easiest to ship and among the most sought after.

In the collection

Browse bonsai and suiseki and porcelain and ceramics. Our curator desk can search Japan for a particular pot, stone or stand; replies follow within 1–3 business days.

See also