AS LONG AS KNOW THOUGH MY COLLECTION, THE FOLLOWINGS ARE TOP 6 POTTERIES FOR IGEZARA.

THERE ARE CERTAINLY MORE POTTERIES THAN THE ABOVE-MENTIONED BUT THE REMAINED NUMBER OF TOP 6'S PRODUCTS IS AN OVERWHELMING MAJORITY. THEREFORE I VISITED ARITA, SAGA PREFECTURE TO HEAR ABOUT THEM.

IT SEEMS THAT SHIROIWA AND KAIKOSHA HAD BEEN CLOSED. TO MY SURPRISE, ALTOUGH I ASKED MANY PEOPLE ABOUT THEM, NO ONE REMEMBERED THEM, EVEN THEIR NAMES. THERE IS STILL THE SMALL POSSIBILITY WHICH THEY CHANGED NAMES. IF SO I MUST APOLOGIZE FOR MY EASY RESEARCHING. IF ANY ONE KNOWS ABOUT SHIROIWA AND KAIKOSHA, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.

WALKING INTO A SIDE ROAD, I FOUND IT OVER YAMATOKU MAIN OFFICE, A SQUARE CHIMNEY OF BRICK WHERE YAMATOKU'S WHITE LOGO IS PAINTED (SEE LEFT PHOTO). I MET MR. SOEJIMA, MANAGER OF PLANNING. HE SAID,"YAMATOKU HAD BEEN MAKING MAINLY POT AND BOWL BUT RECENTLY WE ARE CONCENTRATING TO SANITARY PRODUCTS, NAMELY WASH BOWL, TOILET AND SO ON." BEFORE VISIT YAMATOKU, I DROPPED IN THE KYUSHU CERAMIC MUSEUM WHERE I SAW THE TOILET IS TOTALLY ARRANGED WITH YAMATOKU PRODUCTS. I WAS SO GLAD YAMATOKU IS ALIVE, ALTHOUGH THEY DON'T MAKE IGEZARA ANY MORE. MR. SOEJIMA KINDLY SHOWED ME SEVERAL KILM MARKS OF YAMATOKU. YAMATOKU IS ESTABLISHED IN 1750.

UWATAKI IS LOCATED IN JUST 50 M FROM YAMATOKU AND I FOUND THE CHIMNEY (SEE RIGHT). THE ROAD WAS TOO NARROW TO DRIVE THROUGH AND I THOUGHT IT IS RUDE TO JUMP IN SUDDENLY. I JUST CONFIRMED UWATAKI IS ALSO ALIVE. ONE QUESTION REMAINS. THERE IS A CHIMNEY BETWEEN YAMATOKU AND UWATAKI, WHERE INDICATING TAKIYAMA, JUST A MIXED NAME OF YAMATOKU AND UWATAKI. JOINT VENTURE ?

BACK TO THE MAIN STREET, I WALKED IN MANY POTTERY SHOPS AND I FOUND FAMOUS NAMES THERE, LIKE GEN-UEMON, IMA-UEMON AND SO ON. I REACHED KORANSHA MAIN OFFICE (SEE LEFT). PASSING THROUGH THIS SMALL GATE, EVERY ONE WILL FEEL AS IF HE HAS ENTERED MEIJI-ERA. THEIR SHOWROOM IS MORE INTERESTING THAN THEIR PRODUCTS. YOU WILL FIND THEIR LOGO "ORCHID" WHEREVER YOU LOOK, FOR EXAMPLE, ON THE HANDRAIL OF STAIRS, ON THE CROSSBEAM OF CEILING AND ON EVERY CHAIR FOR CUSTOMER. KORANSHA IS ESTABLISHED IN 1689 BY MR. EIZAEMON FUKAGAWA. KORANSHA IS TODAY A REPRESENTATIVE POTTERY IN ARITA AND WELL KNOWN WORLDWIDE. HOWEVER IF I AM ALLOWED TO SAY ABOUT THEIR IGEZARA, I DARE TO SAY THAT THEY WERE NOT ADVENTUROUS. HOWEVER IF I CONSIDER DEEPLY THAT OTHER ADVENTUROUS POTTERIES MOSTLY COULD NOT SURVIVE, I MUST SAY KORANSHA WAS CLEVER.

KAJIKEN IS LOCATED IN KUROMUTA, IN THE SUBURBS OF ARITA. ALTHOUGH IT WAS CLOSED, RINGING UP FROM OUTSIDE, MR. KAJIWARA KINDLY CAME OUT WITH THE KEY OF THEIR SHOWROOM. THERE ARE SO MANY WOODEN AND CLAY MOLDS WHICH ARE STILL USED TODAY AND THERE IS ALSO A VERY HUGE PLATE OF 120 CM DIAMETER WHICH WAS EXHIBITED AT EXPO IN PARIS. MR. KAJIWARA IS ONLY MAN I MET WHO KNOWS ABOUT IGEZARA. HE SOMETIMES COMES TOKYO AND BUYS KAJIKEN'S IGEZARA AT ANTIQUE MARKET. KAJIKEN IS NOW MAINLY MAKING THE ORDINARY TABLEWARE.

TODAY NO ONE MAKES IGEZARA. WHY WAS IGEZARA BORN IN THIS STYLE ? WHY WAS IT PRODUCED ONLY IN AND AROUND TAISHO-ERA ? WHY DOES OLD PEOPLE DISLIKE IT ? THERE ARE MANY MISTERIES, WHICH MAKE ME EXCITED LIKE A CHILD. <KEIGO WATANABE>