Akahada-yaki is a pottery produced in Gojo-machi, Nara City. It is one of the seven kilns of Enshu. According to legend, the origin of Akahada-yaki pottery dates back to the Tensho period (1573-92), when Yamato Dainagon Hidenaga, lord of the castle in Koriyama, invited potter Yoguro from Tokoname, Owari, to open a kiln. Although it is not known until the middle of the Edo period, around the Tenmei period (1781~9), the Kyoto potter Jihei and others moved to Gojozan to build a kiln, and in the Kansei period (1789~1801), they gained the support of Marquis Yanagisawa Gyozan. The “Akahata” seal (concave seal) in the shape of a slotted sphere was given by the Marquis Gyozan, but the “Akahada-yama” seal is said to have been in use for some time. Akahada-san is the name of the hill where the kiln is located. After the death of Marquis Gyozan, Akahada-yama pottery was in a slump for a time, but during the reign of Jihei III (1830-44), Okuda Kihaku (1871, died in 1871, age 72), a Koriyama resident, began to make pottery at Jihei’s kiln. His works are stamped with the “Akahada-yama” seal and the “Mokuhaku” seal. The hagi glaze that is characteristic of Akahada-yaki today also comes from Mokuhaku.
Even today, Akahada-yaki pottery is still actively produced by the Gojozan Jihei Furuse kiln and other kilns. (Gojozan Jihei Pottery Kiln Sho)
