Traditional craft
Iwami Yaki
石見焼
Tough, high-fired pottery from western Shimane, famous for giant water and indigo-dye jars and sturdy kitchen mortars.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 4 April 1994
- Type
- Ceramics
- Region
- Chugoku
- Official name in Japanese
- 石見焼
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 江津市、浜田市、益田市、大田市、鹿足郡津和野町
Strong enough for daily work
Iwami Yaki is made with clay close to porcelain and fired very hot, so it is tough and holds water well. Its main products are water jars, mortars and kitchenware. It is made in Gotsu, Hamada, Masuda, Oda and Tsuwano in Shimane.
One glaze, two colours
Local clay is refined in water, then shaped on the wheel or from slabs, dried in the shade and fired at 1,300°C. Two glazes lead: a brown glaze from iron-bearing local stone, and a clear glaze from alkaline stone. The clear glaze turns ochre in a clean-burning flame and blue in a smoky one.
- The giant o-handou jars, once used for indigo dyeing, take about 200 kg of clay.
- They are made by shino-zukuri, building with ropes of clay thicker than an arm, carried on the shoulder.
- Shaping one takes three people about a month.
Small bottles, then huge jars
In the mid-Edo period, local craftsmen learned pottery from potters in today's Yamaguchi and began making small pouring bowls and sake bottles. About 20 years later, the skills for big water jars arrived from Bizen in today's Okayama. Iwami became known for its large jars.
Good to know
- An Iwami mortar (suribachi) is a practical piece for grinding sesame or spices in any kitchen.
- Ask kilns about the giant o-handou jars; they still make them to keep the technique alive.
Questions travellers ask
Why is Iwami glaze sometimes blue and sometimes yellow?
The same clear glaze turns ochre in a clean-burning fire and blue in a smoky one.
What is an o-handou?
A giant jar, once used for indigo dyeing, made from about 200 kg of clay.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
- Esashi: the herring town that outshone Edo
- Fukiya: the birthplace of Japan Red
- Iwami kagura: gods and demons dance the old myths
- Iwami's volcanoes: Jomon forest and silver mountain in Oda
- Izumo: the sacred land where the sun sets
- Izumo's tatara: a thousand years of making iron
- Kitamaebune: the merchant ships that made Japan's port towns rich
- Masuda: a medieval masterpiece of Japan
- Tsuwano: walk into a book of 100 old paintings
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.