Bring happiness, provide care.
Mino-yaki pottery is crafted in the Tono region of Gifu Prefecture.
While it boasts the highest production volume of ceramics in Japan,
Mino-yaki is sometimes said to
"lack distinctive characteristics."
Whether it's Oribe or Shino pottery created by individual artisans
or thousands of pieces of tableware produced daily in factories,
everything fired here is Mino-yaki.
While this versatility allows for the creation of any type of ceramics,
it may indeed lack the clear distinctiveness
found in other pottery regions.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the production volume of Mino pottery has also declined.
Simply creating what is requested
or making only what anyone can produce
makes it difficult for a pottery workshop to survive.
What we value most is
craftsmanship that clearly defines our own distinctive characteristics.
Our mission is to properly convey to users
the passion we imbue in our work.
This is not an easy task and takes time,
so the key lies in whether we have the determination to be truly understood.
Since our founding, we have specialized in
commercial tea utensils as our main focus.
We create teapots, clay pots, tea cups, and sencha tea sets.
While these fundamentals will never change,
we apply designs that match contemporary lifestyles
and wish to deliver tea utensils by our own hands
that users will want to collect.
Mino pottery still maintains a thriving division of labor system,
with many colleagues who support us,
including clay suppliers, mold makers, and glaze specialists.
Moving forward, together with these colleagues
and our current staff,
we want to continue crafting tea vessels that bring happiness to someone.
We want to continue caring for others in a way that brings them happiness.
A Person Who Contemplates Mino Pottery
Masayoshi Tsuchimoto
Shinzangama Yamatsu, President and Representative Director
晋山窯ヤマツ
Frustum clay pot (white glaze)
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