Akashi ware is pottery and porcelain mainly made in Akashi City, Hyogo Prefecture. Somewhere between 1615–24, the official kiln of Ogasawara Tadamasa, the lord of the Akashi Castle, was established. Toda Oribenosuke made pottery in this kiln. After that, the kiln was moved to Nakataniyama, Akashi. This is said to be the origin of Akashi ware.
As the official kiln of the Akashi Domain, they have been making a lot of colored plates and bowls, which were greatly inspired by Mishima ware and colored pottery styles, such as old Kiyomizu and Kyo ware styles, since the mid-Edo period.
They were at the height of their prosperity in the late Edo period, and they started producing high-grade colored old-Kyo-style earthenware pots and teapots at the time. The pottery marks on the works from that time include Akashi, Akashiura, Akeurazan, and Akashi Minato.
Akashi ware continued to be produced for about 300 years from the Edo period. In the Meiji period, they produced Kochi-style pottery, and exported it overseas for some time. However, when they reached the Taisho era, their business declined. Currently, only very few kilns are left.
