Takatori ware is a pottery produced in Fukuoka Prefecture. It is one of the Korean pottery kilns that were introduced to Japan after the Japanese invasion of Korea during the Japanese Invasion of 1592-8, and although the kiln has been relocated several times since its establishment, it has remained famous as the domain kiln of the Kuroda family, the feudal lord of Fukuoka, and as one of the seven kilns favored by the Enshu clan. When the Kuroda clan was transferred from Nakatsu, Toyomae, to Fukuoka in December 1600, Yayama established a kiln in Eimanji-ma (Nogata City) at the foot of Mt. In 1614, he moved the kiln to Nogata, and invited Weikato Shinkuro, a relative of Yayama who had been working at Ojiro Pottery in Higo Province (Kumamoto Prefecture) under Kiyomasa Kato, to work with Yayama. The pottery was mainly tea utensils, hard and brownish-brown in color, with a mottled black glaze over it. Like Tang wares, it is left-over and cut on the left side. In general, it is as good as Korean wares and was highly prized as Ko-Takatori in later times. Later, Hachiyama was given the family name of Takatori Hachizo and was given 70 supporters, and was treated very well. However, because of his arrogant behavior, he incurred the wrath of feudal lord Tadayuki, who confiscated his food and stipend. Hachizo and his son Hachiroemon then established a kiln in Karajindani, Yamada, Kamagun. （In 1630, Enshu Takatori invited Hachikura and his son back again to build a kiln at the northern foot of Mount Shirahata (Naka, Iizuka City) in Uchinaka Village, Goya, Honami County. The name of Enshu’s favorite kiln is derived from the name of the kiln.
At the time, Igarashi Jigaemon, a ronin of the Terasawa clan, lord of Karatsu Castle, was visiting Chikuzen and was so familiar with the Seto pottery method that the feudal lord invited him to work with Hachizo in pottery production. From this time on, production progressed, and Enshu Takatori produced such masterpieces as Takatori Okai, Takatori Mimitsuke, Takatori Koshimono, Shofu, Temakura, Yokokumo, Autumn Night, and Somegawa, which were selected as Chukyo Meimono tea caddies. The characteristics of Enshu Takatori ceramics can be summarized as follows: the pottery is dense, and the glaze is white, shallow blue, or dark gray, sometimes blue-black, all of which reveal a rich, moist skin. The underglaze glaze was not present in the old pieces, but was added only after Igarashi’s Seto-style pieces were added. Most of the Enshu Takatori wares seem to date from the Kan’ei period (1624-44) to the end of the Shoho period (1830-144). (3) Koishiwara Takatori: In 1667, during the reign of Mitsuyuki, feudal lord of the Enshu domain, a kiln was built in the village of Kozu (Kozu, Koishiwara Village, Asakura County) downstream from the Koishiwara Kozugataki waterfall. This is called Koishiwara Takatori. (4) Higashiyama TakatoriIn February 1708, during the reign of Tsunamasa, the fourth lord of the domain, a descendant of Hachizo was invited to Kamiyama, Hara Village, Hayara County (Nishishinmachi, Fukuoka City) to produce pottery. The clan appointed a Sarayama magistrate to directly supervise the business. Since Higashizarayama was a completely domain business, its products were initially limited to matcha bowls, tea containers, and ornaments, and the firing was limited to once a year, and efforts were made to produce only the finest pieces, which were mainly used as gifts to the Shogunate and other lords. From around the Kyoho period (1716-36), the number of types of ceramics such as incense burners, water jars, tea bowls, and incense containers increased, and in the Bunkyu period (1861-4), the Higashiyama government office was established. In April 1889 (Meiji 22), a man named Chozaburo Mori was so upset by this that he rebuilt a kiln in Fujisaki, Fukuoka City, by the Muromi River, and in 1899 (Meiji 32), the seventh generation Eiichi Takatori also built a kiln by the Imagawa Bridge. Currently, there is a Kamei Ajikatsu Kamei, a Takatori-shaped tea caddy, and a Takatori-shaped hand-formed net-painted water jar, both in Fukuoka, and a Takatori Shizan in Koishiwara. In addition, during the reign of Nobumasa, the fifth lord of the domain, he established the Nishisara-yama kiln several hundred meters west of Higashiyama, which specializes in daily necessities. This is the current Nishi-Shinmachi kiln. During the Kan’ei era (1624-44), a potter from Koishiwara came to Higashimatsubara, Tajima Village, Fukuoka City, and opened a kiln (called Tajima Takatori, also known as Yusentei Oniwa ware). However, the pottery was discontinued after a while because the clay was not in harmony with the local climate and many pieces ran out of stock, and it is said that the kiln was moved to Nishisarayama in 1716. It is also said that there were Takatori ware kilns in Raizan, Fukuoka City and Noko, Fukuoka City.
