Mino

Mino, centered on the Tono region of Gifu Prefecture, has a ceramics history stretching back over 1,300 years to the late Kofun period, beginning with sueki stoneware fired in mountainside kilns. Its techniques developed alongside neighboring Seto, and the two regions have exchanged potters and methods for centuries; medieval Mino potters learned directly from Seto, and Seto’s own Kato family later relocated to Mino during a period of instability, bringing glaze knowledge with them.

That shared foundation grew into something distinct during the Azuchi-Momoyama period (1573 to 1603), when the rise of the tea ceremony drove Mino potters to develop four now-famous styles: Shino, a thick, milky-white glaze with a warm, slightly pink cast; Oribe, known for bold copper-green glaze and deliberately irregular forms; Kiseto, a soft yellow-glazed ware; and Setoguro, a deep, glossy black achieved by pulling pieces from the kiln at peak heat. Today Mino is Japan’s largest ceramics-producing region by volume, making roughly half of the country’s ceramic tableware, spanning both pottery and porcelain rather than one or the other.