English

【About Makino Hagiyaki Studio】

In 2018, we built our own climbing kiln in natural surroundings, which lay to the west of Central Hagi.

Some of the wares we make are made from clay which we dig ourselves.

We make these wares from this nature, using materials from the nature, firing with fuel collected from nearby nature. Nothing extra is needed to make this pottery. It is amazing that pottery can be made only from within nature.

Potters have consistently experimented with the nature, looking to produce the best possible wares.

Once you have built a climbing kiln, you go through the process of digging the clay, chopping firewood, making the ware, blending glaze, and then managing the heat in the kiln during firing. On completion, you examine the wares for colour, shape and texture. Then you repeat the process starting from digging the clay with variations as desired.

We believe that we can make quality wares using this traditional though often time-consuming process.

This process enables us to fulfill our aspiration to pursue making the traditional and simple HAGI YAKI.

It may sound contrary to this time and age when innovative designs are often preferred, but we believe that there exists an ethereal beauty in the traditional and simple HAGI YAKI, which gives people a sense of peace and tranquility.

Our desire is for people to have a sense of the natural surroundings which go into the making of the wares and also feel the nature (essence) through the handling and seeing of the wares.

【About Hagi Yaki】

As Hagi yaki is not high-fired, the original soft texture of the clay remains, and it therefore also easily absorbs tea or any liquid you put in it. So with use, as the liquid seeps through the cracks in the glaze, you can enjoy the colour of the ware gradually altering. This phenomenon is called ‘NANABAKE’, ‘seven levels of change’, and has been admired and enjoyed by tea masters through the ages. The completion of Hagi yaki ware is not when it was unloaded from the kiln. As you use it and keep on taking care of it, it changes its colour and texture and will become your own unique special ware.

【Traditional Approach】

Masanori, the potter, produces Hagi yaki ware in as a traditional way as possible such as using kick wheel and handmade glaze, starting with the burning of wood, twigs or straw into ashes. Some of the clay he uses is what he dug on his own. For firing, he is committed to using a wood-fired climbing kiln. By using this traditional method of a wood-fired climbing kiln, he wishes to spread the charms of traditional Hagi yaki to a lot of people. 

【Our Studio and Kiln Site】

In 2018, we built our own climbing kiln. We renovated a nearby 100-year-old house into a studio where we built a facility for making the wares with the use of a kick wheel, along with providing a space for a gallery. Our studio in Sanmi-ichi village is located in the peaceful countryside of Hagi City. The village used to be a small inn town where you rest or change horses before entering the castle town of Hagi Domain. The traces of that time remain, leaving a sense of the past.

The beautiful stone bridge called Megane Bashi is only a 10-minute walk from our place. You can also enjoy a countryside walk.

【Contact Us】

Makino Hagiyaki Studio

Potter: Masanori MAKINO

Address: 710 Sanmi-ichi, Hagi City, Yamaguchi, Japan 759-3721

Tel: +81-838-26-1073

e-mail: makinohagiyakistudio@gmail.com

※Kindly give us a call before you visit us to make sure that we are in.