Kyo Yaki and Kiyomizu Yaki

Kyoto elegance in clay

Kyo Yaki and Kiyomizu Yaki bring together delicate, graceful pieces that keep tradition alive and fresh designs for modern life. There is no single style. The craft is still not mechanised: about 90% is handmade, with each step done by specialists. It is made in Kyoto city, Uji, Joyo, Muko, Kameoka and Nagaokakyo in Kyoto, as tableware, vases, tea ware and incense ware.

Clay brought from afar

Kyoto has no clay or porcelain stone of its own, so potters bring materials from places like Amakusa in Kumamoto and Shigaraki in Shiga and blend them for each piece. After shaping, trimming and bisque firing, pieces are painted under the glaze, glazed and fired. Coloured pieces then get overglaze painting and another firing. Gold and silver leaf may be added.

A city of master potters

Pottery in Kyoto began before the Heian period and took off with the building of the capital. The city has produced one great potter after another: Ninsei and Kenzan in the 17th century, and in the 19th century Eisen, who succeeded with porcelain, along with Mokubei, Hozen and Ninnami. In the Meiji period, the German craftsman Gottfried Wagener was invited to Kyoto, and foreign techniques pushed the craft forward.