“Flame-Style” Deep Pot (Kaen doki)

Like many Jōmon vessels of similar form, this deep pot is composed of two distinct parts: a tall, flat-based body that widens slightly toward the top, and a flaring mouth consisting of four groups of abstract sculptural shapes. The maker coiled clay at the top of the vessel to shape these flamboyant, forward-projecting decorations, before piercing them with large and small openings and adding smaller coils. The hand-built vessel bears the characteristic markings created by rolling twisted cords across the surface—visible both on the exterior and in X-ray imagery. Although it now appears nearly complete, the pot’s condition reflects careful restoration, also visible in the X-ray. As an excavated Jōmon-period ceramic, it remains extremely fragile and must be handled using specialized methods.