Terracotta is an Italian word meaning baked clay. In archaeology, terracotta is used to refer to clay products such as clay spindle wheels, clay weights, and small statues, but recently in Japan, the term terracotta has been used only for decorative architectural products, and tends to be used for large works that are hard-fired and glazed. The general use of terra cotta in architecture in Japan began in the late Taisho period (1912-1926), and at first all terra cotta was imported from the United States. Although domestic research and production of terra-cotta products has been conducted for many years, industrial production was not established until 1922 and 1923, when Iga Kogyo, Ina Seito, and Osaka Toki began almost simultaneous production.
