This kiln is located in Kusiri, Izumi-cho, Toki-shi, Gifu Prefecture, Japan. Kushiri was formerly written as “chicken,” and during the Keicho period (1896-1615) it was written as “Gunjiri. The pottery industry in this area first came to prominence during the Tensho period (1573-92), when Ichizaemon Kagemitsu Kato built a kiln on the hill behind Kusiri Seianji Temple. According to a document in the collection of the Kato Palace in the town of Dachi, Keimitsu came to this area in August 1574. He was the second son (or third son, according to one theory) of Shiroemon Kagesharu, the 13th generation of Seto Kageshō (Fujishiro I), and formerly lived in Akatsu Village in Owari Province (Akatsu-cho, Seto-shi, Aichi Prefecture, Kuzumacho, Aichi Prefecture). He was skilled in pottery making and was renowned for his skills, and received a red seal from Oda Nobunaga for a license to build pottery kilns in the first month of the same year. However, he was in danger because of the envy of his peers, so he came to this area to seek help from a relative named Shin’emon of Kusjiri, and changed his name to Yosanbei.
However, it is said that it was not until 1583 (Tensho 11) that he made up his mind to live here permanently. After retiring, Keikō became a monk and lived at Seianji Temple, where he died on August 11, 1585, at the age of 73. His successors looked up to him and regarded him as the founder of Mino pottery. Kagemitsu had three sons, the eldest of whom was named Shirouemon-emonjo Kagenobu. During the Tensho era (1615-1626), he followed his father and moved to Kusiri, where he devoted himself solely to the pottery business. This was probably after the death of his father, Keiko. After returning to Japan, Kage-nobu built the Karatsu kiln and produced white-glazed ceramics for the first time. This kiln is known as the “Tool Kiln” or “Fujishiro Pottery. At that time, the kilns in Owari and Mino (Aichi and Gifu prefectures) were cellar kilns, but this Karatsu kiln from Hizen was a continuous climbing kiln. During the reign of Emperor Goyozei (1586-1611), when Emperor Shojincho asked for Kage-nen’s products, he offered a white-glazed tea bowl, and since then he contributed year after year, and on July 5, 1597, he was appointed as the governor of Chikugo, and received the name “Asahi ware of Chikugo”. The name “Asahi Pottery of Chikugo” was given to the pottery because of the excellence of its products. He died on February 2, 1632. His grave is located at Nakajima, Kushiri, on the south side of Seianji Temple. On the front of the stone monument, there is an inscription that reads “Matsudake Kage-nen, hermit,” and on the back, “Fujiwara Kage-nen, guardian of Chikugo,” dated February 2, 1632. Kage-nobu had three sons: Taro Uemon-no-Kageshige, Kuro Uemon-no-Kagesane, Shinbei-no-Kageshin (according to one theory, Kage-naka), and two other sons and daughters. Each of these descendants flourished and opened kilns in various places in the three counties of Toki, Kani, and Ena in Mino Province. (Wahari no Hana, Gifu Prefecture Industrial History)
