1. Kabazaiku
Cherry bark art objects: Kabazaiku
Kakunodate is an ancient feudal city located in the heart of Akita Prefecture in northern Japan. The city's landscape is renowned for the blossoming of its many weeping cherry trees and somei yoshino (cherry blossoms). Kakunodate artisans create art objects from mountain cherry bark, called kaba zaiku. The word "kabazaiku" is believed to originate from a long poem in the Japanese poetry collection Manyoshu, in which mountain cherry trees were described as "kaniha," a word later transformed into "kaba." Finely peeled and polished bark is called "muji kawa," while bark with its original expression is called "shimofuri kawa." The more these objects are used in daily life, the more their color becomes vibrant and retains the luster of the mountain cherry tree.
2. Yamagata Imono
The Yamagata Fountain
Many of the chagama (large cast-iron kettles) essential for the tea ceremony are made in Yamagata. It is said that the art of cast iron was developed in Yamagata during the mid-Heian period (794-1185) by blacksmiths serving the army, who were looking to produce a lightweight and manageable material. It was in Yamagata that they found the earth and ores suitable for such production. Characterized by a remarkably fine, elegant finish and a regular shape, Yamagata cast iron is used to forge superb vases, teapots, cauldrons, and decorative objects.
3. Wajima Nuri
Wajima lacquer
Characterized by its layers of lacquer applied successively by hand and the beauty of its intricate decoration, sometimes inlaid, with mother-of-pearl and gold finishes known as "maki-e," Wajima lacquerware is made in the city of the same name in Ishikawa Prefecture, but it is considered one of the finest throughout Japan. A layer of fossilized clay (chinoko) is applied beneath the lacquer, ensuring its durability. Creating Wajima lacquer requires meticulous handwork, with more than 20 different operations before the lacquer is applied and between 75 and 124 steps in total until the finished product is complete. Besides teaware, bowls, trays, and numerous other everyday objects are produced using this technique.
4. Echizen shikki
Laque d'Echizen
Echizen lacquer is a traditional craft originating in the city of Sabae in Fukui Prefecture, dating back to the 6th century (the end of the Kofun period), making it the oldest lacquerware in Japan. Its defining characteristics are its durability, achieved through swift and expert lacquering, luminous reflections and deep shadows, and a flamboyance befitting exceptional objects. Over time, Echizen lacquer techniques have diversified to meet the demands of larger-scale production: today, 80% of Japanese lacquerware comes from Echizen, and some pieces showcase a new and more avant-garde style.
5. Mino-yaki
Mino Ceramics
While its history dates back to the 7th century, it is said that the very absence of a single identifiable characteristic or style is what defines Mino-yaki ceramics. Indeed, Mino ceramics encompass a wide range of styles, with more than 15 recognized styles. Like Kiseto (yellow seto), Setoguro (black seto), Oribe, and Shino-yaki, this diversity of styles developed during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573-1603), and the numerous works produced, considered to be of high quality, were incorporated into the essentials of the tea ceremony. More generally, it is the expressiveness in the fluidity of the glazes and the curved, irregular lines that give the Mino-yaki style its charm and uniqueness.
6. Seto-yaki
Seto ceramics and porcelain
Seto Inland Sea, with its abundant high-quality clay, has been producing richly glazed ceramics and porcelain for over a thousand years, in one of Japan's six oldest ceramic production sites. As the country's first production region, the very term Seto-mono (literally "Seto things, Seto objects") has become synonymous for the Japanese with pottery in general, so much so that it is said that there is nothing that cannot be produced in Seto.
7. Tokoname-yaki
Tokoname ceramics
The city of Tokoname is located on the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture, known for its mild climate and abundant natural beauty. Tokoname pottery is still produced in kilns recognized as being among the six oldest pottery production sites in Japan, and its manufacturing techniques have been passed down since the Middle Ages. It is considered the oldest of these six production sites (Echizen, Seto, Shinano, Shigaraki, Tamba, and Bizen). Thanks to the quality of its clay and the advanced techniques used to make kyūsu teapots, it is said in Japan that anyone can make a good cup of tea with a Tokoname teapot.
8. Takayama
Chasen de Takayama
The chasen, whip matchais an essential item when preparing tea matchaIt is a handcrafted, traditionally made item using techniques passed down for over five centuries, dating back to the Muromachi period (1336-1573). Even today, over 90% of chasen are made in the village of Takayama, located in the municipality of Ikoma in Nara Prefecture, nicknamed "the village of chasen".
During the manufacturing process, the bamboo harvested in winter is stripped of its resin, left to dry in natural light, and then finely cut with a blade to create long, thin pistils measuring 30 to 70 micrometers at their tips. All steps are carefully carried out by hand. The chasen is then secured with a thread at the base of the pistils, followed by the final finishing touches, including adjusting the pistils. There are over 100 types of chasen in Takayama alone, varying in the number of pistils (or stems), shape, material used, and purpose, depending on the tea ceremony school or type of tea. matcha made (light usucha tea or thick koicha tea for example).
9. Kyo yaki
Kyoto Ceramics
It is generally accepted that the history of Kyōyaki ceramics dates back to ancient Japan, but it would be more accurate to say that it truly differentiated itself and established itself as a distinct style from the Azuchi-Momoyama period to the beginning of the Edo period (15th to early 17th centuries). This period coincided with an increase in the production of ceramics and tea-related items, linked to the rise of the tea ceremony in Japan. Kyoto was then the capital and cultural center of the country, attracting all the most renowned artisans, who brought with them their own techniques and aesthetic sensibilities. Diverse and original, yet always refined, creations were thus the hallmark of the Kyōyaki style. Even today, both the throwing and the glazing are done by hand with the characteristic finesse of the ancient capital, which preserves centuries-old traditions and techniques.
10. Karatsu Yaki
Karatsu ceramics
Karatsu pottery is made in northern Kyushu, straddling the Nagasaki and Saga prefectures. Its charm lies in its simple yet refined rusticity, reminiscent of the gentle warmth of the earth, as well as in its diverse decorative motifs. Many pottery items, including teaware, have been made in the Karatsu-yaki style since the sixteenth century. It is said that while the potter does 80% of the work, the remaining 20% is the responsibility of the user. Thus, the object is truly complete only after its first use in cooking or for making tea, embodying the principle of "yō no bi," meaning beauty in use—and in wear.