The Tokinoha Pottery Studio, which preceded of TOKINOHA shop, began in a rental home in the Kitayama District of Kyoto in 2009.
Tokinoha refers to a special Japanese purple-peach color. It was inspired by the address of the district, which contained the Japanese characters for “purple” and “peach”, thus becoming the starting point for the name.

In 2011, the studio was transferred to the current location of Yamashina, where the Tokinoha Shop was established. At first, vessels were considered “artistic pieces”. However, after countless discussions with customers, we realized that pots are intended for food to be placed on them. Since then we have been focusing on practical wares, instead of shelf pieces for display.

Then in 2021, we have come to realize that the close interaction between potter and customer may provide great benefit to both parties. This idea led us to merge the studio and shop together, giving birth to a new space we named “TOKINOHA Ceramic Studio”.

Tokinoha Ceramic Studio will be a unique interactive venue, where the adjoined studio and shop provide exclusive experiences that may not be possible elsewhere. There are three key words that we would like to introduce in order to portray the origin of Tokinoha Ceramic Studio.

In the world of ceramics, the environs for craftsmen may not always be ideal.

These places may be dark, enclosed, dusty and cluttered.
They are hot in the summer and cold in the winter.

There are many craftsmen who endure in such circumstances attempting to make their pieces.
In the world of craftsmanship in Japan, there is a discipline, a perception that the creation of beauty requires artisans to work in a harsh environment.
However, this way of thinking will limit the discovery of young individuals who seek to become skilled artists.

Tokinoha Ceramic Studio provides a foundation for craftsmen to be contented and dynamic, so as inspire the next generation of youth. We aim to be role models for young people who aspire to become artificers and potters.

TOKINOHA trusts that the process of “fashioning earthenware” is not complete until it is in the hands of the people. Our core purpose is to deliver ceramics directly to the customers who place their orders with us.

We arrived at this understanding when the number of wholesale clients, along with the amount of orders, began to increase. Large volumes of orders should be gratifying. However, profits were meager, and we faced the sad reality of being incapable of providing our hardworking staff with appropriate salaries.

We were confronted with a dilemma: reduce the product prices, or raise the revenue percentage. In 2019, we decided to prioritize the concept of “practical pottery”, and discontinued over 50 previous wholesale companies, shifting to direct consumer business.

We firmly believe that the supply of handmade items must center on personal relationships with customers. Tokinoha Ceramic Studio intends to offer a new vision of distribution for the future of handmade crafts.

Tokinoha Ceramic Studio is situated in a housing complex called “Kiyomizu-yaki Danchi” (Kiyomizu Pottery Village). It is a location where particular workshops and Kiyomizu pottery businesses align, such as material shops, ceramics studios, artist ateliers, wholesale stores, wooden box manufacturers, etc.

The reason Kiyomizu-yaki Danchi retains its name is because, even if Kiyomizu pottery is suspended, the history of the district will be passed down to future generations. This message deeply captivates us.

We arrived here in Kiyomizu-yaki Danchi by chance, but we feel destined to be here. Tokinoha Ceramic Studio is obligated to do what we can to pass the torch of Kiyomizu pottery to the future.

The concurrence of the three key words above is meant to render ceramics self-sustainable. Unfortunately, we presently sense that the existing structures will result in deterioration of the industry, as we see in many other crafts. Tokinoha Ceramic Studio seeks to model viable new forms in terms of craftsmen, distribution methods, and localities in the world of craftsmanship.