Zuikou Kyoto-Kiyomizu Studio sits directly in front of the five-story Yasaka Pagoda. This building functions as a satellite for the Zuiko Kiln, a family-run pottery business with roots stretching back to eighteen sixty-seven. While the…
Gojo Pottery and Workshops
We walk the quiet backstreets of Gojo-zaka and Chawan-zaka to meet multi-generational ceramic families and see active pottery studios. This route takes you past historic climbing kilns and independent workshops to reveal Kyoto's tactile ceramic heritage up close.
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1. Zuikou Kyoto-Kiyomizu Studio
2. Soryu-gama
Soryu-gama is a pottery studio and gallery tucked into the Higashiyama district, distinguished by a colorful fabric noren hanging over the entrance on the south side of the building. Founded in nineteen forty, it has remained a family-run…
3. Kyoto-style Climbing Kiln (Fujihira Climbing Kiln)
The Fujihira Climbing Kiln is a large, multi-chambered structure built directly into the rising slope of the Higashiyama district. Constructed in June nineteen oh nine by the Kyoto Ceramic Joint-Stock Company, this kiln was originally part…
4. Kiyomizu-ware Pottery Tousengama
Kiyomizu-ware Pottery Tousengama sits in the Higashiyama district of Kyoto, a part of the city where ceramic studios have operated for generations. Established in eighteen sixty-eight, the kiln originated as a wholesaler before opening its…
5. Kawai Kanjiro's House
Kawai Kanjiro's House is identifiable by its traditional wooden lattice facade, which blends into the narrow streets of the Higashiyama district. Built in nineteen thirty-seven, this residence and workshop was designed by the potter and…
6. Kyoto Ceramic Center (Kyoto Ceramic Art Association Official Shop and Gallery)
The Kyoto Ceramic Center stands out for its glass-walled exterior, which allows natural light to illuminate the pottery displayed inside. Located at the entrance to Gojozaka—a slope historically significant as the birthplace of…
7. KONDO Museum
The Kondo Museum is identifiable by a large, circular ceramic plate measuring over one hundred centimeters across, which is displayed within an entrance window along the Chawan-zaka approach to Kiyomizu-dera Temple. This site occupies the…