Hasami Rinkuro Kiln

In the past, Hasami Ware was recognized as same as Arita Ware, for its identical root. However, around the year 2000, it is separated from Arita Ware and formalized as Hasami Ware.

The Kyushu region has been an important area in the history of Japanese ceramics since ancient times, and is still known as a center of porcelain production. In the Sengoku period (1573-1603), warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi took potters back from Korea during the Japanese invasions of Korea (1592-1598), and built kilns with advanced technology for pottery at the time called “Nobori-Gama" in Hasami Town area, which is the origin of Japanese porcelain production including Hasami Ware.

With the advent of the Nobori-Gama, which made it possible to fire large quantities of pottery at a high temperature of nearly 1300 degrees Celsius (2370℉), and the discovery of good quality porcelain stones, Hasami Town focused on the mass production of porcelain since 1630’s. In the middle of the Edo period (mid 17C), Hasami Town proudly owned one of the biggest pottery kilns in the world at that time.

Since 1650’s, Arita Ware produced in Saga Prefecture recognized as an "artwork" to be presented to Edo Castle, while Hasami Ware in Nagasaki concentrated on the production of tableware for daily use. Although the porcelain styles of Arita and Hasami were different from that time, both were recognized worldwide as “Imari Ware" after the name of the "port of Imari” in Saga prefecture through the East India Company.

Also, until the Meiji era (1868-1912), porcelain shipments from Kyushu region to the entire Japan were distributed from the station in Arita, so Hasami Ware was marketed as Arita Ware for long time. However, around 2000, Hasami Ware finally came to have its name written as an official pottery production area.

In 1655, a government office for pottery was established in Hasami Town and a regional industry started with the entire of the town. By that time, the division of labor for porcelain production began, and the style of production for Hasami porcelain has continued to this day.

Now, Hasami ware is a town-wide handicraft industry in which 20 to 30 percent of Hasami Town's population of 15,000 people are working.

The division of labor of Hasami Ware includes the “Tsuchi-Ya" that wholesales porcelain clay, the “Kata-Ya" that makes plaster molds, the “Kiji-Ya" that uses the molds to form shapes, the “Uwae-Ya" that paints, the “Kamamoto" that fires, and the wholesaler “Ton-Ya” that arranges market.

Each process of the production method is divided to improve the technique and precision of each step, making it possible to mass produce while ensuring the highest quality, enables us to provide durable and excellent tableware.