VILLAGE Report vol.9 Tochigi Prefecture | Mashiko Ware, Mingei Vessels That Preserve the Feel of Clay

The second installment of the Kanto edition takes us to Tochigi Prefecture. In the previous article, Yuki-tsumugi also had Oyama City in Tochigi Prefecture as one of its production areas. This time, we visit Mashiko ware, a pottery distinctive to Tochigi Prefecture. Its thick, rustic vessels are in fact deeply connected to workshops across the sea.

A Kiln Built by a Potter Who Trained in Kasama

According to materials from Tochigi Prefecture, Mashiko ware is said to have begun at the end of the Edo period when Otsuka Keizaburo, who had trained in Kasama, built a kiln. The year was 1853. He is said to have found good clay in Otsusawa, Mashiko, and started making pottery alongside farming. Kasama in Ibaraki Prefecture and Mashiko are neighbors separated by mountains.

Mashiko clay contains a lot of sand and has little stickiness, so the vessels become plump and thick. Distinctive Mashiko glazes such as persimmon glaze and namijiro glaze are applied, creating everyday vessels that retain the feel of the clay. At first, the main products were kitchen tools such as water jars, grinding bowls, and teapots.

From St Ives to Mashiko

The ceramic artist Hamada Shoji helped make the name of Mashiko ware widely known. In 1920, Hamada traveled with the British potter Bernard Leach to St Ives, a port town at the southwestern tip of England, where they built what is said to have been the first Oriental-style climbing kiln in the West and made pottery. After returning to Japan in 1924, Hamada moved to Mashiko that same year and continued making vessels for everyday life.

Hamada advanced the mingei folk craft movement with Yanagi Sōetsu and others, and later became a Living National Treasure. In 1977, he opened the Mashiko Sankokan Museum, now the Shoji Hamada Memorial Mashiko Sankokan Museum, at his own home, displaying items from around the world that had served as models for his pottery. The exchange between Mashiko and St Ives continues today, more than 100 years later.

Designation as a Traditional Craft and the Pottery Fair

Mashiko ware was designated a national traditional craft on August 3, 1979. Mashiko Town’s pottery fair began in 1966 and is usually held during the Golden Week holidays in spring and around November 3 in autumn. In addition to about 50 shops, more than 800 tents line the town for this community-wide event.

Key Points
・It is said to have begun in 1853, when Otsuka Keizaburo, who trained in Kasama, built a kiln
・Known for thick vessels made from sandy clay and glazes such as persimmon glaze and namijiro glaze
・Hamada Shoji, who made pottery in Britain, moved there in 1924, helping it become known as mingei ware
・Designated a national traditional craft on August 3, 1979

Last time, we opened the Kanto edition with Yuki-tsumugi from Ibaraki Prefecture. VILLAGE Report vol.8 Ibaraki Prefecture is here.

References: Tochigi Prefecture, Tochigi Prefectural Education Center, Mashiko Town, Mashiko Town Tourism Association, Association for the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries

—The Value Village Editorial Team

Photo: FukuroWaraw / CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wikimedia Commons)