Yachimun no Sato: Home of Traditional Okinawan Ceramics

Yomitan has plentiful clay, water, and firewood, all essential for making ceramics.

A map showing the various studios and other attractions. Visitors walking at a brisk pace can tour the village in about an hour and a half.

The Yomitanzan-yaki cooperative shop is in the center of the village. In the background is the ascending red-tiled roof of the “climbing kiln.”

Okinawa’s yachimun often feature a white ring in the center. As plates are stacked for firing, the foot of the vessels on top wears away the glaze, creating an accent to the pattern.

Some Yachimun no Sato studios are operated by relatives of Kinjō, including the gallery Tōgei Kōbō Fuji run by Fujioka Kanako, a granddaughter of the famed potter.

Works by Kinjō on display at Tōgei Kōbō Fuji.

Plates with fish motifs, which Kinjō excelled at making, form an eye-catching display. Shīsā in all shapes and sizes are also for sale.

The Yomitanzan-yaki cooperative kiln is topped by a traditional red-tile roof. The kiln is at the center of the village and is near several pottery studios.

The heat from firewood fed from the stoke hole in the bottommost chamber of the kiln travels upward to fire the pots and plates inside.

The north kiln cooperative shop brims with ceramicware of all types.

A tree-lined path winds through the village.