Anagama kiln

<h2 id="kiln-variants">Kiln variants</h2>
One variant on the anagama style is the waritake kiln. A waritake kiln is akin to anagama in structure, but it has partition walls built every several meters through the length of the kiln. Each partition can be side stoked. 
A noborigama 登り窯 chambered climbing kiln is also built on a slope, and each succeeding chamber is situated higher than the one before it. The chambers in a noborigama are pierced at intervals with stoking ports. Such climbing kilns have been used in Japan since the 17th century. The largest working Noborigama kiln in Japan is located in <a href="/facts/Shigaraki/fJJ4PKHR">Shigaraki</a>, in the southern portion of Shiga Prefecture. 
The renboshiki noborigama is a multi-chambered climbing kiln. There are many distinguishing characteristics between the noborigama and anagama style. For example, an anagama is somewhat like a half-tube (long <a href="/facts/Vault_(architecture)/HjLDot2V">vault</a>) with a fire burned at the lower end. A noborigama is like a set of half-tubes (<a href="/facts/Arch/t9L51pqn">arches</a> or short vaults, <a href="/facts/Buttress/EWSXKWWl">buttressing</a> each other) placed side-by-side with piercings that allow each chamber to feed into the next.
The jagama (snake kiln or <a href="/facts/Dragon_kiln/37mF0nR2">dragon kiln</a>) is related to anagama, noborigama, and waritake kilns, and was used extensively in China since at least the 3rd century CE. Jagama are tube shaped similarly to anagama kilns, but can be longer at around 60 m. Although partitioned and side stoked, jagama do not have partition walls, rather, improvised walls are created by densely stacking pottery at intervals.

<h2 id="characteristics">Characteristics</h2>
The main advantage of climbing kilns is that heat from the burning fuel is re-used, the same heat heating more than one part of the kiln. Exhaust heat created during firing of the lower part of the kiln, preheats the chambers above. In addition, the cooling ware and walls below preheat the incoming air. Thus, firing of ware in the upper chambers requires only the additional fuel needed to bring the ware, walls and air to peak temperature. (From a <a href="/facts/Thermodynamics/q4hIx3yP">thermodynamic</a> point of view, the higher temperature of combustion and cooler exhaust suggest greater efficiency.) A modern type, called a tube kiln improves the efficiency and output still further by having the ware move through the kiln in a direction opposite to that of the hot gasses.
All of these kilns use two counter-flow exchange mechanisms to maintain the air supply and to change the ware being fired, with minimal loss of heat. Each of these exchanges works on the same principle as <a href="/facts/Countercurrent_exchange/MzFulDv1">countercurrent exchange</a>, the principal difference being that the ware is not a fluid.
An advantage of the chambered and semi-chambered variants appears to be that they are partly downdraft, which makes the firing results less sensitive to the way the ware is loaded.
A disadvantage of smaller climbing kilns is a tendency to rapid cooling, caused by the incoming air.

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Six_Ancient_Kilns/RkM9vNEK">Six Ancient Kilns</a></li></ul>

<ul><li>Furutani, Michio. <a href="http://www.anagama-west.com/anagama/book/anagama_translation.php">"Anagama: Building Kilns and Firing (2003) (unpublished translation manuscript on file with anagama-west.com"</a>.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li>Cofield, Jay. "<a href="http://southernspaces.org/2008/montevallos-anagama">Montevallo's Anagama</a>." Southern Spaces, 10 June 2008.</li>
<li><a href="http://www.thelogbook.net/">The Log Book, the magazine about anagamas and woodfiring in general</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.anagama-west.com/">An anagama kiln built according to Furutani Michio's design principles, podcasts with woodfire potters, photogalleries of woodfired work</a></li>
<li>Carlson, Scott. <a href="http://chronicle.com/free/v55/i23/23b01301.htm">Earth, Wind, and Fire: Richard Bresnahan's elemental approach to art — and life</a> Chronicle of Higher Education, 13 February 2009. A story about a potter who built the Johanna Kiln, the largest wood-fired kiln in North America.</li></ul>

Anagama kiln open-in-new

Anagama kiln