The Nara period (Nara period:710-794) marks the period when full-scale Sueki production began in Echizen town, and this continued until the early Heian period (Heian period:794-1185). Approximately 60 kiln sites have been confirmed so far, and Sueki produced at the Nyu kiln site was distributed across Echizen. There is no direct official genealogy between Sueki and Echizen ware, but it is important to know this site in order to understand the history of craft production within the area. The “Shimeitani Sueki Kiln” site in Ozowara, Echizen town, which was built in the 10th century and has subsequently been designated as cultural property by the Fukui prefecture, underwent conservation after its excavation and can be visited.

In the latter half of the 12th century, Echizen ware was born from the technology and craftsmanship of the Tokoname kilns. The first kilns built in Echizen were operated in the vicinity of the Ozowara area, and the pottery was similar in shape to Tokoname pottery. In Echizen, more than 200 kiln sites have been discovered from the Middle Ages to the modern era. Echizen town’s Ota and Miyazaki district became a major production area for pottery. Among these kilns, the Jochou Sango kiln site is an important site that marks the start of Echizen ware and has therefore been designated as an official Cultural Property site by Echizen town.

With the building of castle towns during the Sengoku period, the Echizen kilns began mass producing to meet rising demands. The kilns became enormous, and triggering various technological innovations aimed at reinforcing kiln walls and pillars. The production system was also revisited because the previous generation only took on smaller scale production, whereas only large scale mass production was pursued in this period. During the Sengoku period, Echizen ware was distributed across all coastal areas of the Sea of Japan. Amongst these kilns, the size of the Takenotani kiln (Echizen town Designated Cultural Property), which was used in the late 16th century to the early 17th century, is telling of the great amounts of production that was happening at the time, with its enormous kilns measuring some 25 meters in length.

Production of red tiles began in the mid 17th century. The “Echizen red tile” developed its reddish black color from mixing water with a glaze, and soil that contains iron.
Red tiles identical to those fired in the Echizen area were excavated from sites around Kanazawa castle and Fukui castle. Advancements in technology for such tile production spread to the Tohoku regions of Japan, and the Magistrate's office roof in Hakodate City in Hokkaido used roughly 35,000 Echizen red tiles.

As the number of kilns producing Echizen ware declined sharply due to competition from other production areas, new kilns producing a new type of Echizen ware began to setup shop. Some took up the challenge of using local materials to produce porcelain pottery, while others produced high-end pottery with a painted finish. An apprenticeship program aimed at passing on craftsmanship to the next generation was created in hopes of renewing Echizen ware. Skilful potter, Yamauchi Iimon from the Ozowara kiln group was central to the creation of a new type of “white pottery” and was a stakeholder in a joint venture "Nissyouen”, which focused their activity on painted pottery. Yoshida Chojibei who also pursued the production of "white pottery" like Yamauchi, established "Kien", a white porcelain factory.

For a long time the pottery produced in Echizen didn't have a unified name. Instead the pottery was referred to by its local village name, such as "Ozowara yaki", “Kumadani yaki", “Ota yaki", and “Taira yaki”. In view of this situation, it is said that kiln researcher Mizuno Kyuemon, ceramics researcher Fujio Koyama, and Echizen ware potter Kitano Hichizaemon named all ceramics produced in the Fukui prefecture as "Echizen ware”. By unifying the name of generic ceramics produced in the Fukui prefecture to "Echizen ware" in 1965(Showa 40), the name of Echizen ware spread throughout the country.