​"My father Reizo Aoyama founded the Kusanokashira kiln with the dream to make ceramics indispensable for daily life. His vision was to use our hands to convey the true spirit of the creator. Reizo believed in making utensils that are “fun to use and easy to clean”. To master this art, he thought we must learn from our customers. “They are our true teachers”, he said. Through the years we stuck to that philosophy, crafting our products by hand without resorting to mass production. We have continued to do this to this day.

Frog - detail from porcelain painting by Reizo Aoyama

Our base stoneware material is mainly made from Kibushi clay in our area. We dig at Mt. Urayama for the raw material for Oni-ita iron powder. We mix it with cobalt oxide to make Yamagosu paint. Drawing inspiration from the animals and plants around us, we paint our porcelain to produce the final product - Mino Kosometsuke. As you can see, it is produced wholly from local materials. 

Tradition inspiring the new is another major theme for us. We have spent much time in recent years on the research on and reproduction of ancient pottery from the Kamakura period and Muromachi periods. We are now developing new products based on these findings.​"

Sokei Aoyama

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The Artisans

Kensuke Aoyama

Third generation

Works

Sokei Aoyama

Second generation

Works

Reizo Aoyama

First generation

Works