Mar 11, 2014 - 1 min read

Pottery Kilns at Shigaraki

One of the 'Six Old Kilns of Japan'

By Cathy Cawood

Community writer

Cross-draft kiln (noborigama) with many chambers

Broom resting on tiles

The rounded top of a clay kiln chamber

Cracks and scorch marks on the clay of the kiln chambers

Bowls in a kiln

Looking into a chamber of the kiln

You need a lot of wood to fire a kiln!

Tall chimney rising from the vegetation

The sloping roof of a noborigama (cross-draft kiln)

They make more than just pottery tanukis in Shigaraki

Stacks of pots beside the driveway

Bridge in Shigaraki decorated with colorful tiles

They have been making beautiful pottery in Shigaraki for thousands of years. Shigaraki pottery has a simple earthy elegance that was greatly valued by tea ceremony masters of the past, and is still very popular today. If you go there you can view a noborigama (climbing kiln) You probably won't be able to resist buying some hand made pottery from one of the many stores, but you may have trouble choosing! There are also pottery tanuki of all shapes and sizes available, and a pottery park with a small but excellent museum.

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Cathy Cawood

By Cathy Cawood

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