Arita and the Porcelain Road

Where Japanese Porcelain Began

In 1616, a Korean potter named Yi Sam-pyeong discovered high-quality porcelain stone in the mountains of Arita, a small town in Saga Prefecture. Within decades, Arita was producing porcelain that rivaled Chinese ware, and when Chinese production collapsed during the Ming-Qing dynasty transition, Dutch traders at Dejima in Nagasaki began exporting Arita porcelain to Europe. The Dutch called it 'Imari ware' (after the port from which it shipped), and it transformed European decorative arts, inspiring Meissen, Delft, and the entire tradition of European porcelain manufacture.

Four centuries later, Arita remains a working porcelain town. Over 150 kilns and workshops still operate, producing everything from mass-market tableware to museum-grade art pieces. The town's single main street is lined with pottery shops, galleries, and workshops whose chimneys still release wood-smoke during firing season. The clay is still sourced from the same Izumiyama quarry that Yi Sam-pyeong discovered, though the richest veins are now exhausted and the quarry is preserved as a historical site.

The Kakiemon and Imaemon Traditions

Two dynasties dominate Arita's artistic legacy. The Kakiemon family, now in its 15th generation, developed a distinctive style in the 1640s: asymmetric compositions of flowers, birds, and figures painted in vivid overglaze enamels (red, blue, green, yellow) on a milky-white body with generous negative space. The Kakiemon style was the most prized in Europe, pieces collected by Augustus the Strong of Saxony inspired the founding of the Meissen porcelain factory in 1710.

The Imaemon family, also in its 15th generation, specializes in nabeshima ware, the porcelain produced exclusively for the feudal lords of the Nabeshima domain. Nabeshima ware is characterized by precise, geometric patterns and a limited palette of overglaze red, green, and yellow on an underglaze blue base. Production was controlled so tightly that flawed pieces were smashed and dumped in the river to prevent commoners from acquiring them. Both the Kakiemon and Imaemon workshops are open to visitors, with galleries displaying historical and contemporary works alongside active studios.

Walking Arita's Pottery Streets

Arita's Uchiyama district is the historic kiln quarter, stretching about two kilometers along a narrow valley. The main street is lined with pottery shops ranging from tourist-oriented bargain ware to serious galleries representing individual artists. The Kyushu Ceramic Museum (free admission), at the eastern end, houses an outstanding collection that traces the entire history of Arita porcelain, from the earliest rough stonewares to the refined export pieces that dazzled European courts.

The best walk is along the Tonbai-bei walls, alley walls constructed from discarded kiln bricks, broken saggers (the fireproof capsules used to protect pieces during firing), and porcelain shards. These patchwork walls are unique to Arita and form a visual record of centuries of kiln operations. Individual shards embedded in the walls, a flash of blue glaze, a fragment of painted plum blossom, are accidental art, and photographing the most striking sections is an Arita tradition in itself.

Okawachiyama: The Secret Kiln Village

Okawachiyama, a 20-minute drive from Arita in the mountains of Imari, is the most evocative pottery settlement in Japan. This tiny village of 30 kilns was established by the Nabeshima lords as a secret production center for their exclusive porcelain. The village was deliberately placed in a mountain valley accessible only through a single narrow pass, which was guarded. Potters were forbidden to leave. The clay, techniques, and designs were state secrets, and the village operated as a closed community for over 200 years.

Today, Okawachiyama is open but barely changed. A single lane winds through the valley past working kilns, wood-fired noborigama (climbing kilns) built into the hillside, and small galleries where potters sell directly from their studios. Kiln chimneys rise from tile rooftops. Shards of broken porcelain, some centuries old, lie in the stream beds and trails. The village is usually empty of visitors, and the silence is broken only by the sound of potters' wheels and the occasional clatter of stacking saggars.

The Arita Pottery Fair

The Arita Toki Ichi (Pottery Fair), held annually from April 29 to May 5 during Golden Week, is the largest ceramics market in Japan. Over 500 stalls line 4 kilometers of street, selling everything from ¥100 bargain bowls to ¥500,000 art pieces. The fair draws over a million visitors across the week. Every kiln and workshop in Arita and the surrounding region participates, and many use the fair to sell seconds, test pieces, and discontinued designs at dramatic discounts.

The fair transforms Arita from a sleepy pottery town into a chaotic, exhilarating marketplace. Serious collectors arrive at dawn on the first day. Stalls selling the most sought-after kiln's seconds develop queues before opening. The atmosphere is competitive but friendly, buyers and sellers share a genuine enthusiasm for ceramics that transcends the transaction. Street food stalls line the route, and the entire town takes on a festival energy that is completely absent the other 51 weeks of the year.