Okinawan Pottery (Yachimun)

Thick, generous clay in cobalt blue, amber and green, painted with a brush that keeps all its momentum. Yachimun is the Okinawan word for pottery. Because it is never too perfect, it takes whatever you cook for the everyday table.

What sits here is the work of nine studios across the Okinawan islands. Issui Kiln in Yomitan paints freely patterned rectangular plates, and champuru plates finished in layered overglaze enamel. Edome Pottery draws karakusa scrolls, round motifs and chrysanthemums across its bowls and plates. Yokotaya Kiln fires makai, the Okinawan word for a bowl, in the traditional way. On Iriomote Island, Seiho Kiln kneads suzu-ishi, a mineral found on the island, into its clay, while Atelier Gokoya on Taketomi Island carries the Paterna patterns of medieval Spain onto island plates. Then there is the carved line and clear blue of sui in Kitanakagusuku, the manganese glaze of nakamurakenoshigoto in Nanjo, the goya and shikwasa of Atelier Kucchane, and the white and brown of Iha Yuya's dango. Pieces that carry the tradition and pieces made for how people live now come from the same islands.

In 1682 the Ryukyu royal government brought the island's kilns together in Tsuboya, Naha, and the center of Okinawan pottery grew from there. In the 1930s, Yanagi Soetsu and the mingei movement found a healthy beauty in it. After the war, as the city grew and smoke from the climbing kilns became a problem, many potters moved their kilns to Yomitan, which became today's Yachimun Village. Yachimun is thick and sturdy, so it is made for daily use as it is. To read about its history, patterns and forms, see Yachimun.