Traditional craft
Mashiko Yaki
益子焼
Sturdy, softly glossy folk pottery from Mashiko in Tochigi, shaped by the potter Hamada Shoji and celebrated at a giant pottery fair twice a year.
Key facts
- Officially recognised
- 3 August 1979
- Type
- Ceramics
- Region
- Kanto
- Official name in Japanese
- 益子焼
- Official area (in Japanese)
- 真岡市、芳賀郡益子町、市貝町、茂木町
Simple, sturdy and made for use
Mashiko Yaki is plain, honest pottery with a calm gloss, born from local clay and a deep knowledge of glazes. It is made in Mashiko, Moka, Ichikai and Motegi in Tochigi, mostly as tableware and vases.
Brush marks and chatter marks
Potters shape pieces on the wheel, in moulds or by hand. Two typical decorations are hakeme, where white slip is brushed on so the brush marks show, and tobi-kanna, where a springy blade chatters across the clay to leave a pattern of little cuts. Pictures are painted in blue gosu, brown-black tetsusha and copper. Mashiko has many glazes, including persimmon, black and nuka-jiro, a white made from rice-husk ash.
Kitchen ware that became folk art
Mashiko pottery began in the mid-19th century, when Otsuka Keizaburo, who had trained at Kasama, built a kiln. With domain support, it made daily kitchen ware for Edo. In 1924, the potter Hamada Shoji began working here and had a huge influence on local potters, leading to the tableware and flower vases Mashiko is known for today.
Good to know
- Time your trip for the Mashiko Pottery Fair, held during Golden Week in spring and around 3 November in autumn, with about 500 tents.
- At the fair you can talk to young potters and kiln craftsmen directly in their tents.
Questions travellers ask
When is the Mashiko Pottery Fair?
Usually in spring during Golden Week and in autumn around 3 November.
Who was Hamada Shoji?
A potter who began working in Mashiko in 1924 and shaped the style of its pottery.
Where it comes from
More crafts from the same area
Local foods from the same area
Heritage stories from the same area
Sources
We checked the facts on this page against these sources.