column UK design engineer in Tokyo
Series: UK design engineer in Tokyo Installment 2 “Arita”
10.04.08
During March I made a trip to Saga Prefecture in Kyushu with my friends. My main goal was to visit Arita, which is famous for its Arita porcelain. I even knew a little about this world famous type of ceramic before my trip. This type of ceramic was imported by the Dutch into Europe around the 17th Century, and was also known as Imari ware, as the port from which it left Japan was the nearby port of Imari.
The main reason why Arita porcelain first originated from this area, is that the main ingredient required to make this porcelain, Kaolin, was found in good quantities in the surrounding hills.
I was able to visit the main quarry where Kaolin used to be extracted; this can still be visited today.
In the main town of Arita, there are numerous shops selling and exhibiting a huge array of different types of ceramic craft. If you stray away from the main roads, you can find some really interesting sights, linked to the history of Arita. I found a wall alongside a property, where the main bricks of the wall had been taken from an old firing kiln. In amongst most of the normal looking bricks, you could occasionally find some very visually unique bricks. These show first hand the types of glaze and colours used in the original kiln.
I was also able to visit the nearby Tozan Shrine, where I was surprised not to find the normal wooden Torii, but this particular shrine had a distinctive porcelain Torii. This is the first time I had seen such a unique Torii which seemed a perfect addition to the shrine dedicated to the fathers of pottery.
After finding out more about the history of Arita, I was keen to have a go at making some Arita porcelain myself. I was very fortunate to have this opportunity, thanks to a good friend of mine, whose uncle runs a small pottery studio; I attempted to make an item on a potter’s wheel. It was the first time I had tried this. I’m familiar with the process, having seen other people making items in this way, but like with most things, it looks easy until you try it yourself.
More details to follow on how this attempt finally turned out…Text by Martin Peek, Dyson）
In this series “UK design engineer in Tokyo”, Mr. Andrew McCulloh and Mr. Martin Peek, who are design engineer of Dyson and live in Tokyo, will make a report about various matters from which they get some inspiration in their daily life.
