Pottery Tour

Gave another free pottery tour of Okawachiyama Village last weekend. Had a nice time with a family from Boston living in Osaka.

Apologies for not updating the shop site and this blog much recently. I've been a bit overwhelmed with new house stuff (see photo). Look for new items being added to the Village of the Secret Kilns Pottery Shop in the near future!

The Throat Shrine

Above Okawachiyama Pottery Village, tucked into the side of the mountain at the top of almost 400 stairs, there is a beautiful little country shrine.

Most shrines in Japan are associated with something - traffic safety, exams, sweets, and so on. This particular shrine is good for your throat.

If you visit Okawachiyama and have energy left after walking through all the lovely pottery shops, I recommend you make the climb up to this shrine. On a clear day you can see all the way out to Imari Port, so renowned in the history of Japanese porcelain.

Camellia Series from Ooshuu Kiln

The Village of the Secret Kilns Online Pottery Shop is constantly being updated. We've added a new Camellia Series page from Ooshuu Kiln. Check out the updated shop and read our kiln profiles.

NEW! Customized Japanese Pottery! Start Imagining Now...

Several years ago I gave Maeda Keisuke's lovely cobalt blue and white sansui "his and hers" lidded tea cups to two friends in Canada who were getting married. Now these cups are wonderful as is, but the "homerun" aspect of this gift was that I had asked Maeda-san to paint the couple's names on the cups. True to Maeda-san's character, instead of simply painting their names on the lids or underneath, he actually worked the names into the scene on these cups. The cups depict a coastal fishing village, and he had painted tiny signposts sticking out of the ground with a name on each one. My friends loved the gift and especially the way their names had been incorporated into the cups' design.

Recently, thinking back on my Canadian friends' reactions to their unique tea cups, I thought why not take this a step further? Our close relationships with Imari ceramicists enables us to approach them on your behalf to discuss the possibility of unique customized pieces made for you. This could range from simply writing a child's name on a cup, all the way to complete made-to-order shapes and designs.

Although we cannot guarantee that the ceramicists will accept your idea, my experience has been that these artists are open to experimentation.

Contact us now to discuss the possibility of unique Japanese pottery and porcelain made for you.

Dave