Located in the westernmost part of Saga Prefecture and adjacent to Nagasaki Prefecture, Arita Town is mostly forested but has a narrow urban area along the Arita River running through the center of the town to Imari Bay. This small town with a population of less than 20,000 is well known as the birthplace of Japan’s white porcelain in the 17th century. Many potteries and stores of Arita ware stand side by side along the meandering street beside the Arita River. The street runs from Izumiyama Quarry that was found by Lee Sanpei, a Korean master potter, and was essential for Arita ware as it supplied quality kaolin for longer than 400 years, to the west for 5 km long. This long area, called Okawa-Uchiyama district as shown in the first photo, is designated as a Traditional Buildings Preservation District. Thanks to the gentle slopes formed by the Arita River, it was easy for the potter to build a climbing kiln, and the river was helpful for water transport of the products. Unique walls, called Tonbai-bey, are found along the backstreets of the area as shown in the second photo. These walls are made of scrap firebricks from the periodical maintenance and renewal of the climbing kilns. They are found only in this area throughout the country.
Jason Hardy
Commentaires