Arita – Japan

Arita is a small town in the Saga Prefecture on Kyushu island in Japan. It is famed for its history in porcelain ranging over 400 years, making it a little piece of heaven for people who appreciate porcelain.

Since April 2018, I am on an exchange program at the Saga University Faculty of Art and Design (formerly known as the Arita College of Ceramics). I have decided to join this special semester long spring exchange program because I have a desire to gain deeper knowledge and perfect my ceramic skills.

It has been two months into the process and theres already too much to write about. Right now I will be concise and later I will add more updates about my development here.

The picture shown is from the Izumiyama Quarry at top of the village. This was the first quarry where kaolin was excavated from the mountain and processed into porcelain. The beauty of Arita porcelain is that it does not contain much more than just that! It is really pure, natural material.

On the second picture you are able to see a zoom in photo of the Izumiyama mountain with its beautiful patches of pure white stone.

The rest of the selection of images bring you just a bit more into the world of Arita – the porcelain town.

Izumiyama Quarry
Arita porcelain raw stone
Fukutoshi raw products factory
Kakiemon National Treasure
Koransha manufacturer - underglaze painting
Matsunaga casting factory
Dami Fude - Japanese underglaze painting brush
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