Shigaraki Ware is a Japanese pottery produced in the area around the town of Shigaraki, Koga City, Shiga Prefecture. It is one of the “Rokkoyo", which represent the six oldest ceramic production areas in Japan, and originated in the Nara Period (710-794). 

Shigaraki ware began when roof tiles were fired in Koga when the emperor of the time, Shomu Tenno, built a detached palace called Shigaraki-no-miya.

Shigaraki ware is characterized by its rough, fire-resistant clay, and is made by mixing and kneading together raw materials called kibushi, mizuchi, and gairome with clay from the bottom layer of Lake Biwa. The clay is suitable for making large objects, and in the Kamakura period (1185-1333), water jars were mainly made for storing water for daily use.

The raw clay is white but contains a slight amount of iron, so it sometimes takes on a pale scarlet color when fired. The warm texture was much favored in the tea ceremony culture of the Sengoku Period ( 1467-1568), and many masterpieces of tea ceremony utensils were produced from Shigaraki Ware.

From the Edo Period (1603-1868) onward, Shigaraki Ware became a household utensil with its fire-resistant properties, such as a "Tokkuri (sake-carafe)" for making hot sake and “Donabe (clay pots)". In the Meiji era (1868-1912), research on glazes was also advanced, and Shigaraki Ware “Hibachi (brazier)" became a representative kitchenware, accounting for as much as 80% of the domestic market share in Japan.

Today, Shigaraki Ware is loved for its tasteful "wabi-sabi" style of clay texture as interior decoration and Japanese tableware, and is also widely used in daily life as flower vases and tiles, and is also known as a producer of the Donabe clay pots that cook rice deliciously.

Alternatively, giant ceramic raccoon dog figurines called "Tanuki," which have become synonymous with Shigaraki ware, can be found at some Japanese restaurants in Japan.