Kihara Kiln is located in Kihara-cho, Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, in the Higashisonogi-gun, Hizen Province. It is a branch of Hirado ware as a porcelain production area, but many of the pieces produced are inferior. Rather, what deserves attention are the pre-porcelain Korean-style ceramics, which cannot be ignored among the old kiln sites near the border of Saga and Nagasaki prefectures. According to local legend, a second son of Kihara potter Yokoishi Saemon, named Sanemon, moved to Yagamigawa and began making pottery, which is said to be the origin of Genshigawa ware. Many pieces in the style of Genshigawa ware were excavated near Kihara. Until the Taisho era (1912-1926), Kihara tea bowls (earthenware bottles) were known as representative of Kihara ware. It is a blue-black glazed molded ceramic ware with a thick bottom and a capacity of 1 shu (18 liters). It is said that its production later ceased due to a lack of firewood. This kiln is said to have started in 1603 when Kim Kyun Young, a naturalized Korean, established a business in Yoshinomoto in the same area, and its lineage includes the Yanaginomoto, Jizohira, Anomae, Nishi, Muraki, Hyakugan, Nakaoyama, Mimata, Hiyayama, Enaga, Ushi, and Sasa kilns. See each item. (Novelogue of Honcho Pottery, History of Prefectural Pottery and Traditional Potters, History of Hirado Pottery, History of Kohkihara Pottery and Kohkihara Pottery Kilns)
