Japanese craft used and not just to be displayed and thus, the border between craft and art was not always very clear. Crafts were needed by all strata of society and became increasingly sophisticated in their design and execution. Craft had close ties to folk art, but developed into fine art as well as the concept of "wabi-sabi" aesthetics. Craftsmen and women therefore became artisans with increasing sophistication. However wares were not just produced for domestic consumption, but at some point items such as ceramics made by studio craft were produced for export and became an important pillar of the economy. Family
Saggar glazed and again placed in saggars prior to being glost fired. Ware may then be decorated, and placed on refractory "bats" and fired again such as in a muffle kiln. A "Saggar Maker's Bottom Knocker" was a name considered sufficiently amusing for it to be featured on the television panel show What's My Line?. Whilst saggar making was a skilled craft, bottom knocking was far less skilled, consisting of beating clay into a metal ring. From the twentieth century studio potters have used saggars to create decorative ceramic pieces. In this use saggars are used to create a localised reducing