Hello everyone reading this blog.
My name is Yokoyama, the owner of Koto Potter.
This may be a sudden question, but do you know where the kilns for Kyo-yaki and Kiyomizu-yaki are located?
For example, the name of the pottery is often the same as the place where it was produced, such as Shigaraki ware being named after Shigaraki Town in Shiga Prefecture and Arita ware being named after Arita Town in Saga Prefecture.
However, Kyo-yaki and Kiyomizu-yaki are found all over Kyoto Prefecture.
Within Kyoto City, there are areas with many kilns, such as the Kiyomizu ware complex in Yamashina, the Sennyuji area, and Sumiyama in Uji City, where the Byodo-in Phoenix Hall is located, but there are also potters who have their studios in residential areas or deep in the mountains.
So this time, I would like to summarize the areas that are the most representative production areas of Kiyomizu ware kilns.
I hope this will be useful for your stroll around Kyoto.
1. Sennyuji area
As its name suggests, the Sennyuji district of Higashiyama, Kyoto City, is dotted with around 50 kilns near the temple.
It is a reliable production area of Shimizu ware, with many alumni connections and strong collaboration between traditional potters.
There is an association called the Seiyokai, which was created by potters in the Sennyuji area, and they work together to create pottery.
The location is about a 20-minute walk from Shichijo Station, where Sanjusangendo Temple and the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art are located, and about a 10-minute walk from Tofukuji Temple, which is famous for its autumn leaves.
Every year around November, when the leaves change color, the Seiyokai organizes a festival called the Autumn Leaves Festival, bringing together local potters.
It's a fun event with a lineup of Kiyomizu-yaki sales and food stalls, bustling with locals and tourists alike.
Potteries in the Sennyuji area handled by Koto Potter
Shunzan Kiln
Tosen Kiln
Noritaka Ito
Taihei Kiln
2. Kiyomizu-yaki Complex
In the mid-Showa period, potteries that had their workshops in Kiyomizu-dera and Gojozaka were forced to relocate their workshops due to urbanization and disaster prevention issues.
Then, just over the mountain from Kiyomizu-dera Temple, a new Kiyomizu-yaki complex was developed in Yamashina, Kyoto City.
Home to famous potters and kilns, as well as wholesalers of Kiyomizu ware and retailers of raw materials and supplies, it is one of the largest production areas of Kiyomizu ware and provides an environment where pottery can be concentrated on.
In the center of the Kiyomizu-yaki complex is the local cooperative, the Kiyomizu-yaki Complex Cooperative Association, which displays and sells pottery works.
There are also many galleries run by pottery manufacturers, so if you're interested, take a stroll and you're sure to make some new discoveries.
Access to Kiyomizu-yaki Complex
Every year in mid-October, there is a festival called "Kiyomizu-yaki no Sato Festival," which is the largest direct sale of Kiyomizu-yaki pottery by kilns.
There are also many food stalls lined up, making it a very lively event that can be enjoyed all day.
