Mashiko vs Kasama Pottery: How Two Neighbouring Kiln Towns Grew Apart

Kasama in Ibaraki Prefecture, and Mashiko in Tochigi. Two pottery towns that sit side by side across a prefectural border.

And these two regions have grown up influencing each other for the better. In the 19th century, Otsuka Keizaburo, who had learned the techniques of Kasama ware, took notice of the clay in Mashiko and opened the first kiln there. That is how Mashiko was born, and with the arrival of Hamada Shoji it grew into a major pottery region. It is fair to call the two a parent and a child, related by blood.

And yet today, the two have become opposites. Mashiko has a recognisable "Mashiko look". Kasama, in the best sense, has no "Kasama look" at all.

This guide compares the history of the two regions to show why that happened.

Mashiko vs Kasama Pottery at a Glance

First, a side-by-side look at Mashiko ware and Kasama ware. The two regions are neighbours, and Kasama started earlier. Mashiko then developed alongside the mingei folk craft movement, and today both are major pottery regions with more than 300 makers at work.

Kasama Is the Parent, Mashiko the Child

Kasama learned from Shigaraki

Kasama ware dates back to the 1770s. The potter Kuno Han'emon learned his techniques in the Shigaraki ware region and opened a kiln in the Kasama domain. What he made at first were practical pieces used every day by farming and merchant households: storage jars, water jars and sake flasks.

Kasama is home to Kasama Inari Shrine, one of Japan's three great Inari shrines. As a shrine town drawing worshippers from across the country, it had a ready market for its pottery. That character as an "open shrine town" later became the ground for Kasama's free spirit.

Mashiko learned from Kasama

About half a century later, in the 19th century, Otsuka Keizaburo, who had learned the techniques of Kasama ware, took notice of Mashiko's abundant clay and opened a kiln. This is the origin of Mashiko ware.

Mashiko clay is coarse-grained and highly plastic. So in its early days the region grew as a maker of large everyday pottery: jars, storage pots, earthenware teapots and hibachi braziers. Like Kasama, it began with practical pieces.

From Shigaraki to Kasama, from Kasama to Mashiko. The technique runs along a single line. At this point, the two were closely similar regions making practical pottery.

Where the Two Parted Ways: Hamada Shoji Moves to Mashiko

So why did the two regions each take on such distinct characters by the present day? It comes down to two events, one in each place.

To Mashiko came a single potter

In 1924, Hamada Shoji (1894–1978) moved to Mashiko. He would later be called a master of mingei pottery.

Hamada had gone to England with Bernard Leach and returned after four years there. The place he chose as his base was Mashiko. In his own words, the reason was that "the clay was good". He felt that Mashiko's coarse, plain, unadorned clay was right for embodying the philosophy of mingei.

In 1926 Yanagi Soetsu published the "Prospectus for the Establishment of the Japan Folk Crafts Museum", and in 1927 he founded the Japan Folk Crafts Association with Hamada, Kawai Kanjiro and others. The mingei movement was under way. At its core was yo no bi, the beauty of use: the idea that true beauty lives in the practical things used every day.

Mashiko became the emblematic region of that movement. In other words, into Mashiko came an idea from outside, and that idea became a style.

To Kasama came a school

Kasama's turning point came in 1990, when the Ibaraki Prefectural Ceramics College opened in the city. As one of the few specialist ceramics schools in Japan, it began drawing students from all over the country.

And more and more of them stayed on in Kasama after graduating, setting up their own studios. Land and studio rents were affordable, a community of makers already existed, and above all there was little pressure from a "lineage of masters" imposing a style.

Many of Japan's pottery regions are towns where skills pass from parent to child, and makers from outside can find it hard to put down roots. Kasama is comparatively free of that closedness. As a result, what came into Kasama was not an idea but a diversity of people.

What Draws You to Each Region Is Completely Different

Mashiko has a recognisable style, and its appeal is how that style has evolved

You can tell Mashiko ware by its glazes. In keeping with the spirit of mingei, glazes that bring out the beauty of the material have traditionally been preferred over showy decoration.

Painting with iron pigment, made from dissolved iron oxide, is another hallmark of Mashiko. Flowers and geometric patterns are drawn in fluent strokes, close to improvisation.

The forms are thick-walled too, and hold heat well. It is a region where you can see it, hold it, and know it is Mashiko.

Kasama has no set style

Kasama ware has no fixed look to identify it by. Within a single region, all of the following exist at once.

• Plain tableware in the line of the mingei movement
• Minimal, architectural forms in white porcelain
• Contemporary, art-like forms that would not look out of place in a gallery
• Delicate painted pieces with plant and nature motifs
• Powerful wood-fired stoneware

All there is, is the individuality of each maker. That is why people say its lack of a characteristic is its characteristic.

How to Choose Between Kasama and Mashiko Pottery

As described above, Kasama ware and Mashiko ware come from neighbouring towns yet differ greatly. Knowing that difference, and choosing with it in mind, makes finding your pieces all the more enjoyable.

• With Mashiko, you can choose by region　You can search for "a persimmon-glaze rice bowl". Even without knowing any makers, you can find the piece you want.
• With Kasama, you choose by maker　"I want Kasama ware" will not narrow it down. Finding a maker you love is what buying Kasama ware means.
• Mashiko is easy to start with　A nukajiro mug, a persimmon-glaze rice bowl. It is a region where your first piece is easy to settle on.
• Kasama offers a wide range of encounters　From plain mingei to contemporary art-like forms, the same regional name spans a broad range.
• In both, you can talk directly with makers　In both regions makers often sell their own work, so you can buy knowing the face of the person who made it.

At Nokaze you can browse Mashiko ware and Kasama ware separately.

The Pottery Fairs Fall in the Same Holiday Week

These two regions also hold their spring pottery fairs on very close dates, and because they are neighbouring towns, you can visit both in one trip.

If you want to take your time in each region, we recommend going to Kasama in spring and Mashiko in autumn. Mashiko also holds an autumn fair. Go to the Kasama Himatsuri in spring and the Mashiko Pottery Fair in autumn. If you want to avoid the two competing for the same holiday, this split is the most straightforward.

In Kasama, studios and galleries are scattered within walking distance of the station, and the Ibaraki Ceramic Art Museum is within walking distance too. Because you can get there by train, Kasama is the easier of the two to move around.

Dates for pottery fairs across Japan are collected in Japan Pottery Fair Calendar 2026-2027: 90 Dates and Venues.

For parking and how to avoid the crowds at Mashiko, see our guide to the Mashiko Pottery Fair; for the autumn event at Kasama Art Forest Park, see Kasama Roman.

Related Guides

Get to know each region

• Mashiko Pottery: Where Japanese Folk Craft Still Lives
• Kasama Ware: Japan's Most Free-Spirited Pottery Town
• Shigaraki Ware: Why Its Clay Sparkles After 1,200 Years

Understand the background

• Mingei: The Folk Craft Movement That Changed Pottery
• Kiln Regions of Japan: 10 Pottery Styles Compared
• Pottery Regions of Japan: A Buyer's Map

Before you buy

• How to Choose a Japanese Rice Bowl (Chawan)
• Pottery That 'Grows': How Ceramics Change With Use
• How to Care for Japanese Ceramics: A Practical Guide

Visit the pottery fairs

• Mashiko Pottery Fair: Getting There from Tokyo, Parking and Crowds
• Kasama Roman 2026 | Three Days of Food and Craft, Not Himatsuri
• How to Visit a Japanese Pottery Fair: 9 Regions Compared