Three established kilns, four independent artists, and two contemporary studios. Every piece in our gallery comes from one of them.
Koubei-gama
Founded in 1804 in the village of Ichinokura, Koubei-gama was once an official kiln supplying ceramics to Edo Castle. The sixth-generation master, Kato Takuo, was designated a Living National Treasure of Japan for his work in Sansai (three-color glazes), and is internationally recognized for reviving the lost Persian Luster glaze and the Sansai of the Shosoin imperial treasures. Two centuries of glaze research, under one roof.
Souzan-gama
Souzan-gama is the kiln behind Shittou Soukichi — a craft that brings together two of Japan's oldest traditions: ceramics and urushi lacquer. Each piece begins as a Mino-yaki form, then receives layered coats of natural lacquer. In the Negoro technique, red is laid over black; in Akebono, black is laid over red. As the piece is used over the years, the top layer gently wears away to reveal the color beneath — a built-in record of countless meals. Naturally antibacterial, warm in the hand, and quietly evolving with daily use.
Shinzan-gama Yamatsu
A 150-year-old kiln in Toki, now led by its fifth-generation owner. Shinzan-gama specializes in white-bodied tea ware — teapots, cups, and tea sets that meet the precise demands of restaurants and tea masters. In 2020, the studio won the Red Dot Design Award, one of the world's leading design honors.
Hayashi Hideki
Born and raised in Toki, the heart of Mino-yaki country, Hayashi works at the family kiln Tsururin-gama (鶴琳窯). His signature technique — nishoku-senkoku, or two-color line carving — gives his bowls, plates, and cups a graphic, almost architectural quality. In 2018, he was invited to exhibit in Faenza, Italy, a city long considered a global capital of ceramic art.
Miyashita Shota
A former hairstylist in Tokyo's Omotesando, Miyashita moved to Toki in 2017 and opened his studio in 2019. His approach is unusual: glaze compounds measured to 0.001 grams, kiln temperatures controlled to the degree, and a small team of specialists handling each stage of production. The result is a body of work that is technically rigorous and unmistakably contemporary. His pieces have been shown in Shanghai, Dubai, and France.
Ando Hiroyasu
Based at Jusen-gama in Tajimi, Ando is a leading practitioner of crystalline glaze — a notoriously difficult technique in which crystals bloom across the surface as the kiln cools, no two pieces ever the same. His work has found patrons among Japanese fine-dining restaurants and international collectors looking for ceramics that read as living surfaces.
Kitagawa Kazuki
Born in Kyoto, trained in product design at Kyoto Saga University, and now working in Tajimi after studying at the Tajimi Ceramic Design Research Institute. Kitagawa uses slip-casting — a method that could easily produce identical objects — and deliberately varies the glaze chemistry every firing. The result: pieces with the precision of design and the singularity of craft. No two are ever alike.
hacchi
A studio that takes Mino-yaki out of the cupboard and onto the body. Working with Mino tiles, hacchi designs earrings and ear pieces sold in five-piece sets — each piece a different pattern or color, so the wearer can mix them as a small daily edit. Ceramic, but as clothing.
awasaka
Based in Mizunami, in the easternmost reach of Mino-yaki country, awasaka has been designing original tableware, gift pieces, and everyday objects since 1961. A maker that bridges the worlds of artist studios and industrial production — bringing thoughtful design to the kind of ceramics that quietly furnish a home.
Individual artist pages, kiln visits, and behind-the-scenes notes are in development. To inquire about a specific maker — including back-room pieces not shown online — please get in touch.
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