Tsugaru ware is pottery made in Hirosaki City, Aomori Prefecture. Between 1688–1703, Tsugaru Nobumasa, the fourth feudal lord of the Tsugaru Domain, wanted the Hirosaki Domain to reach pottery and porcelain self-sufficiency, so he invited Hirashimizu Sanemon from Edo. To test if pottery and porcelain can be produced in Tsugaru, they had Setosuke, a renowned master craftsman, make porcelain using the clay that Sanemon had gathered. They concluded from the results that it was perfectly possible to produce pottery and porcelain. They invited the tea pot craftsman, Kyubei, and others from Edo and established kilns in Teramachi and Shimizu Village. The kilns produced supplies for the domain for over more than 20 years. It is said that this was how Tsugaru ware originated.
It is said that in 1806, Ishioka Rinbei, from Yuguchi Village, invited a potter called Genshichi from Junisho Town, Ugo Province (Junisho, Odate City, Akita Prefecture), and established a kiln in Ogita. He attempted to venture into pottery production, but ended up failing. Later on, he once again invited potters from Ugo Province, Seibei and Einomatsu, and finally succeeded in making Akudo ware. However, they faced financial difficulties only about two years in, but they were acknowledged by the feudal lord of the Tsugaru Domain. They continued producing pottery with the support of the feudal lord. In addition to making tea utensils under orders from the domain, they also made items for the common people.
However, with the start of the Meiji era, most of the potteries, which used to be supported by feudal domains in the Edo period, were overwhelmed by potteries from other prefectures, and shut down by the end of the Taisho era.
