Shinjo-higashiyama pottery 新庄東山焼

Higashiyama is the common name for the hilly area in the eastern part of Shinjo City in Yamagata Prefecture, where the village is covered with a thick layer of clay. Wakui Yahei, the founder of Higashiyama-yaki pottery, was a potter from Echigo, who fell in love with the Higashiyama potter’s clay as he traveled around the region as an apprentice, and opened the kiln in 1841 as an official kiln for the Shinjo-Tozawa domain. The raw materials are still collected from the kiln’s premises, and due to the characteristics of well-fired pottery, it is highly valued for its strength and