Nagasaki Prefecture, Hasami Ceramic Ware

Episode 3

Sustainability is not about flowers blooming forever, but about them scattering and continually leaving behind what is essential.

Clay makers produce pottery clay, mold makers create molds from plaster, molders shape the clay, and the potters at the kiln paint, glaze, and fire the wares. Trading companies connect these scattered professionals throughout the town, turning product plans and designs into reality and delivering them to retailers and users. The entire town of Hasami functions as a single factory, dividing the tasks of ceramic ware production into separate operations.

As we listened to the stories, we learned that the person from that trading company originally came from that kiln, or that person learned their skills from another, or that craftsman and that company president were classmates in elementary and middle school, or that someone was indebted to another's grandfather, and so on. There are connections that outsiders cannot understand, forming the foundation of this town's craftsmanship. It's a network that intertwines both blood relationships and local ties, like an extended family in a broad sense. This made us feel the profound strength of the local industry that has been rooted in this land for many years.

However, if they continue creating with the closed connections of a limited group, their creativity will decline. This town, perhaps from experience or intuition, is aware of that danger. "I want to design something unprecedented." "That's challenging but let's give it a try." The old men at the kilns earnestly consider proposals brought by the younger generation or ideas from outside designers. By taking these ideas seriously, the artisans infuse their skills with new energy, keeping them alive and relevant. Those involved in Hasami ceramic ware embody this way of living.

In the town, challenges that go beyond the boundaries of the ceramics industry are expanding. They aim not only to have people buy Hasami ware but also to attract visitors to the region. The land actually produces delicious rice. Visitors are invited to stay here and enjoy meals served on Hasami ware. Volunteers in the town have started tourism activities centered around the ceramics industry, through collaborations that transcend boundaries of industrial, municipal and private organizations.

Could the sites of former ceramics factories scattered around the town be used as hubs for interaction? Such exploration, initiated by the chairman of a trading company, blossomed into the creative hub “Nishinohara" with the help of a potter who had moved to the town. This hub attracts young people interested in art and design.

On the south side where there are many rice paddies, a restaurant offering local ingredients served in local pottery, "Tou-Nou Restaurant Seishun no Sato" opened thanks to a local construction company president. A closed onsen (hot spring) facility was revived as "Hasami Onsen Toujirou." Nearby, new hotels and accommodations were built, turning the area into a place of relaxation for many which is now known as Minami Den-en.

A trading company representative created a 4,000-square-meter private park called "HIROPPA," where children can play freely and everyone can become familiar with art and Hasami ware as well.

A married couple renovated an old house overlooking beautiful terraced rice paddies and began a private lodging called "oniwa."

The potter who revitalized "Nishinohara" established another hub for creativity and education at the site of a former ceramics factory in a mountain district. The chairman who has been leading tourism activities is currently working on a system to use the residual heat from pottery kilns for agriculture. The town has become a destination for people to visit even when the pottery market is not being held.

In the 1600s, the people of Hasami built communal kilns in their mountain village and began making ceramic wares. Since then they've experienced the Meiji Restoration, global recessions, and times of war. Over the course of 400 years there must have been good times, but also moments when the industry nearly came to a halt. However, just as plants that seem withered in winter sprout anew and bloom in spring as if nothing had happened, the pottery industry in this town deeply rooted itself in this land and survived resiliently. Sustainability is not about flowers blooming forever, but about them scattering and continually leaving behind what is essential. I thought about this while sitting at the site of a hillside climbing kiln, feeling the breeze of May. What news will we be able to deliver next?

Cooperators

  • Morisuke Kodama: Chairman of SAIKAI Toki. Former board chairman of Nagasaki Prefectural Pottery Wholesale Cooperative Association. Chairman of Hasami-yaki Shinkoukai (Hasami Ceramic ware Promotion Association), NPO Green Craft Tourism Kenkyukai (Green Craft Tourism Study Group). Together with Kiyoshi Fukazawa, he established a “Chouhan-kai” (Breakfast Club) to be held on the first Saturday of every month at 6:30 in the morning, inviting not only local people but also business managers and university professors from all over the country. The knowledge sharing at the club led to the Green Craft Tourism initiative. Currently, he is preparing to renovate the building of a former ceramic factory in Kodaru-go, Hasami-cho to open “MIDOU,” a site with a hands-on workshop and a lodging facility.

  • Wataru Nagase: Potter. Born in Yamagata-shi, Yamagata Prefecture. After working as a research student at Tokyo University of the Arts, he moved to Hasami-cho in 2003. The primary motif of his ceramic wares is sea creatures. Setting up his studio in the former site of the ceramic factory, Kouzan Tou-en which was managed by Morisuke Kodama, Nagase has been instrumental in renovating the building, planning and launching a café/restaurant. The Nishinohara area was thus born. Currently, he has moved to Nakao-go, Hasami-cho, where he is creating a one-of-a-kind cultural hub with a stage for live performances and a handmade wood-fired kiln. He also pours his passion into giving special classes at elementary schools.

  • Kuntaro Abe: Ceramic ware designer and engineer. Born in Hanamaki-shi, Iwate Prefecture. After completing graduate school, he studied at KONST FACK K&G in Sweden. He worked for a ceramic manufacturer in Thailand before returning to Japan in 2006. He is based in Hasami-cho since. He has created products with both domestic and international companies and designers. He was one of the members to develop ceramic ware lines such as Hasami Porcelain and Common. After moving his base to Hanamaki-shi in 2022, he travels back and forth between Hasami-cho working on many projects such as product development and brand direction.

  • Kyohei Baba: CEO of MARUHIRO. Born and raised in Hasami-cho to a family owning a wholesaler company. He learned to enjoy selling ceramic wares while working part-time at ceramic markets from a young age. After leaving Nagasaki Prefecture to work in the apparel industry, he returned to Hasami-cho in 2007 to take over the family business. The colorful mug cups he developed in consultation with “Nakagawa Masashichi Shoten” became a huge hit. He continues to actively collaborate with artists and designers. In 2021 he opened a private park “HIROPPA” in Hasami-cho, Yumuta-go.

  • Kazunori Matsushita: CEO of MATSUKEN HOME, a construction company based in Hasami-cho, Nagano-go. Chairman of Hasami-cho Kankou Kyoukai (Hasami Tourism Association). He participated in “Chouhan-kai” (Breakfast Club), a group organized by local volunteers which led to his taking part in the project to revive the hot springs in Nagano-go. He launched “Tou-Nou Restaurant Seishun-no-sato” in 2009 and “Hasami Onsen Toujirou” in 2010 to revitalize the area, which had closed-off atmosphere since Hasami Onsen Center was discontinued. Minami Den-en area was thus born. His “Matsuken no Yado” (Matsuken Inn), an apartment-type lodging with no meal service, has also been popular since its launch.

  • Takuma and Yukino Kawachi: Born in Tokyo, they moved in to Hasami-cho in 2018. Takuma took up a post as Local Vitalization Cooperator in Hasami-cho. The married couple purchased a 65-year-old private house in Onigi-go, Hasami-cho. With the help of Takuma’s former classmate/carpenter as well as their friends in Hasami, Takuma and Yukino spent two full years renovating the house into "oniwa," a private lodging. Their Wooden Deck in the Sky, a wooden deck overlooking the terraced rice paddies of Onigi-go which is selected as one of the 100 best terraced rice paddies in Japan, and the delicious rice cooked in an old cooking stove called kamado with a traditional rice cooker called hagama are popular.

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  • Toh-Noh Restaurant Seishun no Sato

    A rural restaurant which operates under the concept of “local production and local consumption” located in the Minami Den-en area of Hasami. In order to offer their dishes in the most delicious way, the rice is cooked in an old cooking stove called kamado and the ingredients are carefully selected solely from locally grown produce. In addition to their slow food made with abundance of seasonal ingredients, guests can enjoy authentic Neapolitan pizza baked in a stone oven.

    minami-denen.jp
  • Hasami Onsen Yujiro

    The hot spring facility whose water has a pleasant, thick consistency is reputed to be good for skin. The visitors can enjoy spring water at every part of the facility from the cold spring accompanied ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​by a sauna, to indoor baths, showers and faucets. It is a sodium hydrogen carbonate spring which is alkaline. It is about three times more moisturizing compared to ordinary water and the effect lasts for a long time after bathing. This facility has long been a favorite of the locals.

    minami-denen.jp
  • Hotel Bliss Villa HASAMI

    The hotel is available not just for tourists but also for those on workcation. In cooperation with the adjacent Hasami Onsen Yujiro, bathing coupons come with the stay. In addition, guests can enjoy a breakfast menu with Tanada rice from Onigi, Hasami, which is the rice grown in terraced rice paddies. They use produce from Nagasaki Prefecture served in Hasami wares. In the tea room, they offer complimentary Japanese sweets with matcha green tea freshly made on the spot. The hotel is surrounded by lush green mountains and rice fields.

    www.hotel-blissvilla.com
  • COYANE

    COYANE opened in the summer of 2020 right next to the Hasami ware gallery ÔYANE. COYANE, which means “small roof” in Japanese is a pho restaurant with a slightly smaller roof than ÔYANE, which means “big roof.” It offers "simple and healthy pho" by NAO, a food coordinator who was involved as a buyer in the launch of GROCERY MORISUKE in Nishinohara, another popular spot in Hasami.

    hasamilife.com
  • ÔYANE

    ÔYANE, a Hasami ware shop with a history of 400 years carries a variety of Hasami ware products both new and vintage. The interior of the store is unique to the characteristic of Hasami, reusing the saggars used for firing ceramics. Exhibitions and markets of Hasami wares are always held in the gallery space while an adjoining shop Toki no Kamakura also carries a wide variety of Hasami wares.

    oyane.jp
  • Nishinohara

    A facility for tourists that reuses the site of former ceramics factory Fukko Seitohjo, a factory run by ten generations of potters from sometime in the Edo period (1603 – 1868) until it was closed down in 2001. It is now a popular spot in Hasami. There are many attractions within such as a gallery, general store, grocery store, dining and café spots as well as food stands for ice cream and nigirimeshi (rice balls). Visitors can even enjoy bouldering as well. It also has an event space with a pizza oven, a library, and other facilities, making it a hub for interaction both for visitors and the locals.

    24nohara.jp
  • Former Hasami Public Elementary School Auditorium/Public Hall

    The building is a nationally registered Tangible Cultural Property. Built in 1937 as an auditorium/public hall for Hasami Elementary/Middle School, it was loved and used by many local people until 1995 when the school was newly built in a different location. The stately entrance blends both Japanese and Western styles resulting in a unique presence while the interior, with an atrium in the center and boasting low ceilings, has been highly acclaimed for its acoustics.

    hasami-kankou.jp
  • Yakimono Koen (Ceramics Park)

    It is a general park with an open-air museum and adjoining facilities such as World Kiln Plaza which exhibits 12 reproduced kilns ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​from ancient to modern times around the world, a Hasami ware store, Kurawankan, that carries products from over 30 Hasami ceramic studios, a museum of Hasami ware history, and the tourist association office. Every year during Golden Week (a Japanese national holiday week in May), the Hasami Porcelain Festival, the largest of its kind in Hasami, is held.

    www.town.hasami.lg.jp
  • HIROPPA

    A private park produced by a trading company in Hasami, MARUHIRO. This 4000 square meter park has a skateboard lane, a beach and swimming pool-themed playground, and a store/café selling original Hasami wares and sundries, all of which let both grown-ups and children experience Hasami wares while having fun.

    hiroppa.hasamiyaki.jp
  • MIDOU / TAKAYAMA Co., Ltd.

    MIDOU will be the second largest tourist facility in Hasami after the popular hub Nishinohara. It will open in 2024 using the site of TAKAYAMA, a ceramic studio with a history of about 90 years. In addition to offering tours of the site and hands-on workshop experience at the studio, visitors will be able to dine at “café chimney" and enjoy artworks painted on the gas tanks used for the kilns.

    www.takayama-hasami.com
  • Nakaoyama

    Nakaoyama is a district where ceramic studios are concentrated in the ceramic town of Hasami. A nostalgic view of the old days is found here, from brick chimneys and alleyways to the remains of one of the world's largest climbing kilns that enabled the mass production of ceramics during the Edo period. There are two events related to ceramics every year: “Oh-toh-sai” in April and “Shu-toh-meguri” in October. During these festivals open ceramic studios as well as hiking games and markets liven up the district.

    www.town.hasami.lg.jp
  • Terraced rice paddies of Onigi

    It is selected as one of the 100 best terraced rice paddies in Japan. Located at the foot of the Kokuzoh Volcano, it is an officially designated Special Place of Scenic Beauty which opens up in a horseshoe shape. Rice grown in terraced rice paddies with rainwater, benefiting from the deep mountains, is one of the specialties of Hasami. The Onigi Tanada Center run by the women working at the terraced rice paddies sells not only rice but also handmade miso, pickled plums, and rice-flour cookies among other things. The Onigi Tanada Festival held every September is a lively event that includes hiking games, an edamame bean harvest, and scarecrow displays by the local residents.

    hasami-kankou.jp
  • oniwa

    Designated as an Important Cultural Landscape, this private lodge is located in the same area as the Onigi terraced rice paddies. From the deck, guests can enjoy the mountain view rich in water sources surrounding the lodge as well as the terraced rice paddies. The lodge offers an accommodation package limited to one group per day to spend time with the owner's family who has moved into Hasami. They offer delicately prepared meals with carefully selected seasonal ingredients such as Tanada rice cooked with a traditional pot, local vegetables, and seasonal fish caught in the local spots.

    oniwa.fun

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Credits
Creative Direction
Satoru Miyata (DRAFT)
Creative Direction
Sachiko Suzuki (Fun Japan Communications)
EC Direction
Aya Yamashina (Fun Japan Communications)
Copy Direction
ChiHaru
Copy Writing (Hasami)
Daisuke Umeda
Copy Writing (Biwako)
Michiru Sudo
Translation
Yuiko Hosoya
Art Direction / Graphic Design
Jun Saito
Concept movie illustration (Oil Painting)
Ken Okamuro
Graphic Design / Illustration
Ren Yamakawa (DRAFT)
Technical Direction / Web Engineering
Yuichiro Katsume
Executive Produce
Kunihiko Inoue
Produce
Mitsutaka Nakamura
Traffic Management
Ren Yamakawa (DRAFT)