List of Japanese ceramics sites


The list of Japanese ceramics sites consists of historical and existing pottery kilns in Japan and the Japanese pottery and porcelain ware they primarily produced.
The list contains kilns of the post-Heian period. Not listed are ancient earthenware pottery such as Jōmon pottery, Yayoi pottery, Haji pottery, Sue pottery, Kamui ware, etc. which are general topics whose origins and production cannot be linked to just one specific kiln. Shimamono are objects that were imported from southeast Asia, but later produced locally as well. Mishima pottery despite its name is of Korean origin.
Some of the existing kilns and the main ceramic wares have been designated by the government Agency for Cultural Affairs as an Intangible Cultural Property as regulated by the Law for the Protection of Cultural Properties. In addition the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has designated others as "traditional handicraft workshops". The criteria set by the ministry to be recognised as a "traditional craft" are regulated by Law No. 57 on the Promotion of Traditional Craft Industries, also known as the Densan Law:
  1. It is primarily a craft for everyday life usage
  2. The manufacturing process has to be largely done manually
  3. Has a history of over 100 years, with production continuing to use traditional technologies and techniques
  4. The type of main raw material has remained the same for over 100 years.
  5. Artisans producing the craft have to have a certain degree of scale to be counted as a regional industry
Amongst the list are also the so-called Enshū's Seven Kilns attributed to Kobori Enshū during the Edo period, as well as the Six Ancient Kilns by Fujiyo Koyama during the Shōwa era.
The listing follows a geographical arrangement from north to southern Japan. It is divided by regions, then prefectures, then within the prefectures in alphabetical order. Those designated by the government are in bold letters, those listed under Enshū are marked with a 7 and those by Koyama with a 6 sign in brackets.

Hokkaidō

  • Kita Arashiyama
  • Kobushi-yaki
  • Otaru-yaki
  • Sapporo-yaki

Tōhoku

Aomori

  • Hachinohe-yaki
  • Tsugaru-yaki

Akita

Fukushima

Aizuhongō-yaki

Iwate

  • Dai-yaki
  • Fujisawa-yaki
  • Kajichō-yaki
  • Kokuji-yaki

Miyagi

  • Daigamori-yaki
  • Kirigome-yaki
  • Tsutsumi-yaki

Yamagata

  • Goten-yaki
  • Hirashimizu-yaki
  • Kami no hata-yaki
  • Narushima-yaki
  • Shinjō Higashiyama-yaki

Kantō

Gunma

  • Jijōji-yaki
  • Shibutami-yaki
  • Tsukiyono-yaki

Ibaraki

Saitama

  • Hannō-yaki

Tochigi

Tokyō

  • Imado-yaki

Chūbu

Aichi

Akazu-yaki

Fukui

Gifu

Ishikawa

Kutani-yaki

Nagano

Niigata

Shizuoka

Toyama

  • Etchū Maruyama-yaki
  • Etchū Seto-yaki
  • Kosugi-yaki
  • Sansuke-yaki

Yamanashi

  • Nōketsu-yaki

Kansai

Hyōgo

Kyōto

Mie

Nara

Ōsaka

Shiga

Wakayama

  • Zuishi-yaki

Chūgoku

Hiroshima

  • Himetani-yaki
  • Miyajima-yaki

Okayama

Bizen-yaki
  • Hashima-yaki
  • Mushiake-yaki
  • Sakazu-yaki

Shimane

  • Banshōzan-yaki
  • Fujina-yaki
  • Hachiman-yaki Iwami-yaki
  • Mijiro-yaki
  • Mori-yaki
  • Sodeshi-yaki
  • Shussai-yaki
  • Yunotsu-yaki

Tottori

Yamaguchi

Hagi-yaki
  • Seiri-yaki
  • Sueda-yaki

Shikoku

Ehime

Kagawa

  • Kamikage-yaki
  • Okamoto-yaki
  • Rihei-yaki

Kōchi

  • Nōsayama-yaki
  • Odo-yaki
  • Uraharano-yaki

Tokushima

Kyūshū

Fukuoka

Agano-yaki

Kagoshima

Satsuma-yaki

Kumamoto

Amakusa tōjiki

Miyazaki

  • Komatsubara-yaki
  • Tojō-yaki

Nagasaki

Hasami-yaki Mikawachi-yaki

Oita

Saga

Arita-yaki Imari-yaki
  • Hizen Yoshida-yaki
  • Hizen Ozaki-yaki Karatsu-yaki
  • Shiraishi-yaki

Ryukyu Islands