Bluish-gray high-fired pottery of the Kofun, Nara, and Heian periods in Japan (5th-14th centuries AD), derived from Kaya pottery of the Old Silla period in Korea. A large number of vessels were made on a mechanical wheel, and fired in a kiln at about 1100 degrees C; the blue-gray color resulting from the oxygen-reduced atmosphere in the kiln towards the end of the firing process. By the 6th century, Sue pottery was mass-produced at many centers, with the emphasis on specialized ceremonial vessels, then on utilitarian pots and dishes for the elite, and finally on storage and cooking pots for the general population. When it was first imported from Korea, it was deposited in mounded tombs of the Kofun period.