The town of Mashiko in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, where I live and work should be well known to any person knowledgeable about traditional or contemporary Japanese ceramics. It is situated on the edge of the Kanto Plain, to the north of Tokyo. In the far distance, across the plain, dominating the view of the mountains of Nikko is Mt. Nantai, the prefecture's most prominent landmark.
Amongst other human activity, pottery has been made and used in this locality since prehistoric times.
The pottery industry that now exists here began around the middle of the 19th century, with the discovery of a type of a sandy clay that could be used to produce the various domestic wares, such as cooking pots, grinding bowls, teapots, water jars and salt pots that became known as Mashiko-yaki (Mashiko Pottery).
Within the same area existed an abundance of pine, suitable for fueling wood burning kilns, as well as basic materials for producing the brown and kaki (persimmon) colored glazes so commonly seen on Mashiko Pottery Wares.
From the mid 1930's, Mashiko became the center of Japan's Folk Art Movement in pottery, under the influence of the potter Shooji Hamada. Mr. Hamada's charismatic presence acted as a magnet to many ceramists from other parts of Japan as well as from abroad, to come to Mashiko to establish their own pottery workshops.
From the late 1960's, the contemporary designs of artist potter Shooji Kamota also came to be associated with Mashiko-yaki , thereby increasing the allure of this small town to pottery lovers all over the world.
The Mashiko of today is semi-rural. By unofficial estimate, there are approximately 900 kilns within the town limits! The population is about 25,000.
Mashiko is easily accessible within a few hours from Tokyo.