Hasami-cho, Higashisonogi-gun, Nagasaki Prefecture is known throughout Japan for its production of Hasami-ware Pottery. In the last three articles, we introduced you about the history of the city and Hasami-ware pottery. For the fourth and the last article, we would like to give the readers a demonstration of the experiences you can have in Hasami.

Hasami Part3: The Happiness Hasami City Aims For

※This article is sponsored by SAIKAI TOKI TRADING, written by JapanMade editorial team

Experiencing the Local Life

In order to demonstrate the experience in Hasami, we had two demonstrators from Canada and Spain that were kind enough to cooperate. “Shikisha”, the cultural restaurant introduced in the last article, was the first place we headed. Unique dishes using the local seasonal ingredients are available here. They also serve pizzas baked from revamped kiln and Udon.

After the meal, we walked through Nakaoyama to head to the workshop. Many Hasami-ware related things are incorporated in the construction of this area of the city and you can feel the culture by just walking down the road.

Experience the Depth with your Own Hands

Before we got to experience crafting the Hasami-ware ourselves, we stopped by “Isshin Toen（一真陶苑）” to study about the craft. Even though “Isshin Toen” once closed their workshop in the 70s, they now hand carve their potteries with their own style called the “Isshin-Bori”. Their potteries are known for its smooth-white design and this place is perfect to deepen the understanding of Hasami-ware culture.

The next stop was Fujita Casting (藤田鋳込み). This workshop creates Hasami-ware by pouring liquid dough into the mold. They reuse the old mold and let’s the tourists design their own Hasami-ware.

“Wow, this is really difficult”, the two would say while creating their own teapot. It was very exciting to see the parts put together into one original Hasami-ware craft. The classes they provide is usually a 3 hour course and they will deliver the finished craft after they bake it in the kiln.

A Coffee Break to Remember. 

The last stop of the tour was a cafe called “No. 1210”. Not only can you take a coffee break in this cafe, you can buy and use the Hasami-ware displayed in the store. We had a conversation about this city. The two volunteers said they did not know about this city or about Hasami-ware before this tour. But after actually experiencing the city, they were surprised this beautiful city full of nature is fairly close to the metropolitan area.

“There were so many things I learned from this experience. It’s hard to actually understand the culture by just looking at the finished crafts. But actually seeing and understanding the process lead to a whole new depth and I enjoyed experiencing that. I want to share this emotion with my friends too.”

The words “I want to take my friends or my parents with me the next time” were exactly what the people in Hasami do it for.