?-2008
male
imado pottery
Imado-yaki pottery was produced mainly in Asakusa Imado-area from the middle of the Edo period (1603-1867), and mainly produced roof tiles and miscellaneous daily utensils to support the daily life of Edo. On the side, they made dolls, which is said to be the origin of Imado beckoning cats (Maneki-Neko).
After the Great Kanto Earthquake, the Shirai family became the sole potter. The Shirai family is the only family of Imado pottery craftsmen that has continued since the Edo period, and is a branch of the Shirai Hanshichi family. Yasujiro is the fifth generation.
After Yasujiro’s death in 2008, his wife Michiko succeeded him, and now his son Yuichiro is the sixth generation to produce pottery.
