Hasami

Hasami, in Nagasaki Prefecture, began producing porcelain over 400 years ago in the early 1600s, at essentially the same time and for the same reason as neighboring Arita: Korean potters brought to Japan during Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s invasions introduced porcelain techniques to the wider Hizen region, and both towns discovered usable porcelain stone in roughly the same period. Arita and Hasami effectively formed one shared production zone, exchanging raw materials, techniques, and craftsmen rather than developing in isolation from each other.

The two towns took different paths from that shared start. Arita leaned toward porcelain as fine art, producing the prestige styles covered in our guide to Arita and Imari ware. Hasami instead built an early division-of-labor system and multi-chambered kilns specifically for mass production, becoming a source of affordable, everyday tableware for ordinary households rather than collector-grade pieces. For centuries, Hasami’s porcelain was shipped and sold under the Arita or Imari name through the same trade channels, and it wasn’t until after 2002 that the region began marketing “Hasami ware” as its own distinct brand.