Suzu Ware Museum

Suzu ware is an unglazed pottery from the tip of the Noto Peninsula, dark gray in color because wood ash adheres to the iron-rich clay during high-temperature firing, creating a subtle glaze without any application. Produced from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries, the craft nearly disappeared entirely before an urn excavated in 1951 led to the rediscovery of around 40 kiln sites. Potter Onodera Gen began reviving the technique in 1972, and today some 40 potters work in the tradition. The museum holds both historical pieces and contemporary works, with displays tracing the Sea of Japan trade routes that distributed Suzu ware across a quarter of Japan at its peak.