MIKAWACHI POTTERY: a League of its own

Text and Images: Masafumi Kanda

Additional text: Emmanuel Feliciano

Hasami. Arita. Places in Nagasaki and Saga that are synonymous to pottery. But there is another place in Nagasaki that is home to a unique pottery tradition. It might be less popular, but there’s a good reason as to why.

Welcome to Mikawachi.

Mikawachi prides itself on producing exquisite handmade and hand painted porcelain ware, which means that each piece is unique. Pottery artists create skillful detail and shading using a cobalt blue pigment called gosu. The result is a very artistic yet naturalistic image. Mikawachi is also famous for openwork carving, an intricate technique where parts of the surface are carved to create a pattern. Hand-forming is also used to create nature motifs like dragons, animals, and plants. Moreover, for a long time, Mikawachi potters have used hamazen, a porcelain base that secures the ware, preventing it from being distorted during baking. A hamazen is used only once, only for one product, and is discarded during a ritual at a ‘pottery shrine,’ or Toso Jinja. The craftsmanship and the exclusivity make Mikawachi pottery special — and more expensive. You can be sure you will own a piece that does not look like any other and was made to be distinct.

According to Mr. Mitsuo Tanaka, chairperson of Saru No Asiato, a pottery gallery in Mikawachi, this distinction dates back as far as the Edo Period. It was during this time when the technique and tradition was passed down by Hirado potters to those in Mikawachi, in an effort to create a more geographically convenient center for trading these products. Since then, Mikawachi pottery has been a symbol of elegance and distinction as it was also used as a gift to lords, generals, and other high ranking people in and out of Japan. This prompted potters to compete for quality so that their creations could be chosen as gifts. The result of this pursuit for quality is a long standing tradition that Mikawachi keeps to this day.

Annually, Mikawachi holds the Hamazen Festival, where there is a sale and exhibit of these exquisite pottery, but you can visit the kilns anytime of the year. What’s more unique about the experience is that you can talk with the kiln owners and also find pottery that matches your personality.

Mikawachi pottery is indeed in a league of its own.