About the Tile Museum

Tokoname - the Pottery Town

The city of Tokoname is located on the western coast of the Chita Peninsula, facing Ise Bay south of Nagoya. Known as one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan, Tokoname has been a center of pottery production since the late Heian period (early 12th century), benefiting from the abundance of clay soil and kiln fuel in the local area

Until the early Kamakura period (early 13th century), Tokoname produced jars for religious ceremonies. Since then, the focus of Tokoname's pottery production shifted to utilitarian ware such as pots, jars, and bowls. Tokoname ware was traded by shipping throughout Japan, from Aomori in the north to the island of Tanegashima in the south. Although originating with unglazed bowls, Tokoname started manufacturing ceramic toilets from around 1854 in the late Edo period and expanded its products to include red clay teapots, earthenware pipes, and architectural terracotta and tiles in the Meiji period.