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Pottery styles in Japan were heavily influenced by Chinese and Korean traditions up until the Tokugawa period (1600). The three main styles of bowls were the rice bowl, the large tea bowl for thick, shared tea drinking, and the smaller tea bowl for single, thin tea sipping.
The primary styles up until 1600 were the Karamono - Chinese style, and the Chosen - Korean style. These were very intricate and elegant.
When the borders shut down in 1600, the Japanese focussed more on a quiet, naturalistic-looking style based on the Zen Buddhist attitude of nothingness. For example, raku was a style in red and black done with a block of clay, not turned on a wheel. Kyo-yaki ("capital fired") was bright and more refined when compared with Kuni-yaki ("country fired").
There were also names given to varous shapes of pottery. Temmoku-gata had a narrow base and a broad rim. Popular styles of this were pure white (hakuji) and misty green celadon (seiji). On the other hand you had ido-gata, which had a high base and flaring edges. This was a more elegant style that would tip easily.
