Sodeshi ware is pottery made in Sodeshi Town, Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. Sodeshi ware started when Ono Tomoichi established a kiln and made everyday items in 1877, after training in Fujinaya, Rakuzan, and Hoeizan.
In 1893, the second-generation head, Iwajiro, moved to the current kiln site at the coast of Lake Shinji in Sodeshinoura, where surface mail was regularly used at the time, and built five climbing kilns. After Iwajiro visited and investigated places that work in the ceramic industry including Kyoto, Seto, and Arita, he created elegant pottery, which has a different appearance than traditional Fujina ware, and named it Matsue ware or Isode ware. However, in 1926, the name changed to Sodeshi ware as suggested by the head of Obararyu Flower Arrangement, Ohara Koun from Matsue. At the time, they mainly produced vases for flower arrangement, and opened outlets nationwide.
With the guidance of Yanagi Muneyoshi, the leader of the folk art movement, the third-generation head, Toshiro, trained under Kawai Kanjiro, Hamada Shoji, and Bernard Leach, enabling Sodeshi ware to leave behind a more distinct tradition on everyday pottery. In 1958, the sake set they entered into Brussels World’s Fair in Belgium was awarded the Grand Prize.
