Page 281 - (DK Eyewitness) Travel Guide - Japan

A DRIVING TOUR Saga Pottery
SAGA POTTERY KYUSHU
Towns
TOWNS

Length 50 miles (80 km) Stopping-off points Arita, Imari,
Karatsu Difficulty Easy; roads are in good condition Locator Map
For more detail see p262
Ceramics enthusiasts will thoroughly enjoy Saga prefecture,
where pottery towns have been producing high-quality wares
for at least 500 years. This tour takes in the three main pottery
towns – Arita, Imari, and Karatsu – which are all within conve-
nient distances of each other. Stop off at these towns to admire
the craftsmanship of the area’s potters. With its
2,500-year-old
ceramics, the
Yobuko’s daily produce Yoshinogari
market includes stalls Karatsu’s wares are Ruins is a good
devoted to reasonably often used in tea starting point
ceremonies. The
priced ceramics. for the tour.
Nakazato Taroemon
Kiln is run by descen-
FINISH dants of the town’s
Chinzei Yobuko first Korean potters.
Mitsusemura
Karatsu
Takashima
Island Kiyama
Fujicho
Fukushima Yamamoto
Island
Tosu
Matsuura S AG A Yoshinogari START
Okawano Ruins Kurume
Ogi
Imari Taku
Kanzaki
Saga Chikugo
Arita
Takeo
Sasebo Okawa Miyama
Shiroishi
Yanagawa
A small town, Arita Kashima
has a shrine to
potters and dozens
of kilns. Pop into
the Kyushu Ceramic The 234,000-strong
Museum for an prefecture capital, Saga
overview of the Imari porcelain was City hosts an annual
region’s pottery. exported by the Dutch hot-air balloon competition
East India Company to in November.
Europe in the 17th cen-
tury where it was highly
prized. Today, Imari-ware
Did You Know? is produced in the kilns
of Okawachiyama.
Korean potters were
brought to Kyushu in 0 kilometers 15 N
the 1590s and given 0 miles 15
sovereign control over
the kilns.
281

280-281_EW_Japan.indd 281 04/02/2019 17:04