Bizen (備前焼) is a type of pottery. Bizen if fired using wood, which makes beautiful markings on these otherwise unglazed pices of pottery. They can some time seem glazed, with out beeing it. This is caused by the firing process, and rice straw wrapped around the piece during firing. It is fired slowly. This is a technique that was introduced during the Heian period.
Bizen gets its name from the Imbe village in the Bizen province (Now Okayama prefecture)