08 - Walking in Ichinokura
a tajimi pottery town (part 01)
View of Ichinokura town in Tajimi
Welcome to another walk in Tajimi!
Ichinokura village is a treat for the pottery enthusiast. Here you will find the Ichinokura Sakazuki Art Museum, and close by you will find the Kobe Kiln, with exhibitions of Kobe Kato's works, and a collection of old Persian pottery among other things. We will come back to that in the next installment, but this time we start our walk in front of the museum, where you will find this map. There are many historic kilns and many famous ceramic artists working in the area. You can also try your hand at pottery making at the pottery facility next to the museum.
Ichinokura village is a treat for the pottery enthusiast. Here you will find the Ichinokura Sakazuki Art Museum, and close by you will find the Kobe Kiln, with exhibitions of Kobe Kato's works, and a collection of old Persian pottery among other things. We will come back to that in the next installment, but this time we start our walk in front of the museum, where you will find this map. There are many historic kilns and many famous ceramic artists working in the area. You can also try your hand at pottery making at the pottery facility next to the museum.
Looking at this map that you will find at the start of today's course, it is not difficult to tell that Ichinokura is a pottery town. We inserted a close-up of the legend to help you understand the map. There are kilns, remains of old kilns, and ceramic factory chimneys still standing all over the town.
Legend: Left column from top: Kiln (open to visitors or sales), Kiln (not open to visitors), Pottery shop (direct sales), Pottery shop (no direct sales), Eatery/Shop. Right column from top: Chimney, Kiln remains, Bus stop, Shrine, Public toilet
people are the true colour of a place
Today we will walk past several places related to pottery, but while objects - like ceramics - are always interesting, I like to connect the object to it's maker. It makes it come alive in a whole different way. Like many other potters here in Tajimi, Hidetake Ando is a person of great originality. He has also been awarded the honorable titles of Gifu Prefecture Important Intangible Cultural Property Holder and Tajimi City intangible cultural property holder.
I guess being an independent craftsman allows a person to grow in the way he likes, and enjoying those characters is one of my favourite pastimes here in Tajimi. Ando speaks in a thick Tono-ben dialect and has great stories to tell. He is a master well known in Japan in particular for his Kiseto works, but here is another piece that I particularly liked when we visited Ando in his studio.
Nezumi shino guinomi (sake cup)
Tajimi is situated in what was historically called the Mino Province, which has lent its name to the famed pottery made here. "What is so wonderful about Mino ware is this relation to nature, the uniqueness of every firing and every piece, and of course the inspiration from the old masters," says Ando. "But you should never try to imitate what they did. Conditions then were completely different. They didn’t have access to boundless information, for example, like we do. What we need to do is to try to take our pottery even further in our own unique way, finding our own personal way of expressing ourselves. That is my path. That's also the advice I would give to potters in other countries who would like to create Mino ware."
There are many other personalities like Ando here, several famous masters in the world of ceramics We will come back to them in the next instalment.
There are many other personalities like Ando here, several famous masters in the world of ceramics We will come back to them in the next instalment.
Pleasant walking in pottery land
It’s quite fascinating to think about how the various villages around Tajimi were divided by manufacturing genres - Takata thrived from its rare clay that is excellent for making sake and sochu bottles since it doesn’t leak, Kasahara had many tea bowl producing kilns, and Ichinokura was - and still is - full of small family run kilns making sakazuki (sake cups), or small plates. This contributed to the name of the ceramics museum in the village - Sakazuki. There are still a great number of these small kilns active today, as well as some very famous potters, which makes the village an excellent place to walk in for the pottery lover. This article is about your discovery of those kinds of places.
Your start- and/or end point
After getting off at the Ichinokura bus stop (see below), continue in the same direction across the bridge and turn to the left, where you will find the Sakazuki Art Museum and maps over the area. Here is also a Pizza restaurant where they cook the pizza in a kiln for you. Maybe a good place to return after your walk :)
As usual we provide a map you can use for navigation. Our first walk took quite a while as there is much to document along the way.
Find you way using our landmarks
We have charted a route along the river and up high where you get a view of the village - we shot the panorama there that now sits at the top of this article.
Click the icon in the upper left to view a list of all locations.
We have charted a route along the river and up high where you get a view of the village - we shot the panorama there that now sits at the top of this article.
Click the icon in the upper left to view a list of all locations.
Getting off the bus
gallaries and shops along the way
The ceramic tile ceiling
At the Hachiman Shrine there is a small annex building with a rare ceramic tile ceiling. Don't miss this rare ceramic treat! You can get a taste of it in the video here above.
the hachiman shrine
This is where you'll find the tiled ceiling.
a view of ichinokura from up high
the Tōso monument
I have written a piece on the mystical historical character Tōso, a figure that is honoured in many places around this region. The real person on which it is based varies from village to village in Tajimi. At the shrine at the end of our route, the ceremony is held in honor of Kato Saemon Tsunemasa, who fired earthenware in Ichinokura in the early Edo period (1603-1868), and his achievements are celebrated with a prayer in front of the monument to his pottery founder.
Tajimi lies in the region that was traditionally called Mino, famous for its excellent clay and the ceramics - Mino ware - that it has produced across the centuries. Shinto is the native religion of Japan, and the country is also a bastion of Buddhism. But perhaps to many people in Tajimi, Tōso feels closer to heart. This story in some ways reminds me of the spirits, or kami, of Shinto, who are believed to once have been real people. I cannot think of any nameless spirit, however, that has played such an important role in securing the livelihood of generations of potters and kiln workers across the centuries.
Take a closer look at the Tōso monument in Ichinokura at the end of our route.
Tajimi lies in the region that was traditionally called Mino, famous for its excellent clay and the ceramics - Mino ware - that it has produced across the centuries. Shinto is the native religion of Japan, and the country is also a bastion of Buddhism. But perhaps to many people in Tajimi, Tōso feels closer to heart. This story in some ways reminds me of the spirits, or kami, of Shinto, who are believed to once have been real people. I cannot think of any nameless spirit, however, that has played such an important role in securing the livelihood of generations of potters and kiln workers across the centuries.
Take a closer look at the Tōso monument in Ichinokura at the end of our route.
Some of the kilns, galleries, museums and sights of interest
Ichinokura Sakazuki Art Museum
The Ichinokura Sakazuki Art Museum exhibits some 1500 delicate sake cups produced in Ichinokura from the end of the Edo period (1603-1868) to the Showa period (1926–1989). The museum shop sells a wide range of works by artists in ceramic, glass and woodwork. We also offer pottery making and pottery painting courses, and a tour of the kilns. (Text from the Museum site)
Sentarogama Gallery
Ceramics gallery - Map Open 10.00 - 17.00, Closed Sundays and holidays
Sentarogama Gallery - about the works
Here you can find works by Hidetake Ando (mentioned above), Suzuki Michiyuki, and Kô Ando. Hidetake's grandfather Sentaro built a kiln in Inoue, Mino City in the early Meiji period. The family has been in business for 130 years. The potters here produced traditional Shino, Oribe and Kizeto, while trying to develop new techniques, "in the hope to get closer to the art of clay and fire".
The Ichinokura Sakazuki Art Museum exhibits some 1500 delicate sake cups produced in Ichinokura from the end of the Edo period (1603-1868) to the Showa period (1926–1989). The museum shop sells a wide range of works by artists in ceramic, glass and woodwork. We also offer pottery making and pottery painting courses, and a tour of the kilns. (Text from the Museum site)
Sentarogama Gallery
Ceramics gallery - Map Open 10.00 - 17.00, Closed Sundays and holidays
Sentarogama Gallery - about the works
Here you can find works by Hidetake Ando (mentioned above), Suzuki Michiyuki, and Kô Ando. Hidetake's grandfather Sentaro built a kiln in Inoue, Mino City in the early Meiji period. The family has been in business for 130 years. The potters here produced traditional Shino, Oribe and Kizeto, while trying to develop new techniques, "in the hope to get closer to the art of clay and fire".
The ceramic ceiling at the Hachiman Shrine
A rare sight in the ceiling of an annex building to the shrine.
The Tōso monument
Tōso is a universal name for the first potter to build a kiln in a place. The ceremony here is held in honor of Kato Saemon Tsunemasa, who fired earthenware in Ichinokura in the early Edo period (1603-1868), and his achievements are celebrated with a prayer in front of the monument to his pottery founder.
