Located in Komatsu City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Kinzangama Kiln is a famed porcelain studio that has been protecting the tradition of Kutani ware overglazing for nearly 120 years since it was founded by Shosaku Yoshita in 1906. Kutani ware is a type of traditional Japanese porcelain that originated during the 1600s and is characterized by vivid colors and bold designs.

A famed porcelain studio that has been preserving the tradition of overglazing

Among the wide variety of Kutani ware techniques, Kinzangama Kiln excels especially at gold decoration. On top of generations of tradition of the Kinrande technique, which combines Western paint overglazing and gold decoration, third-generation owner Minori has further elevated it into a technique called “Yuri Kinsai.” Due to this achievement, Minori has been designated as Government-designated Important Intangible Cultural Property Holder (Living National Treasure).

In Yuri Kinsai, gold leaf, gold powder, etc. are used to draw patterns on the surface, and then the piece is glazed and fired. The conventional Kinsai technique had an issue that the gold on the surface would wear off or come off with time, but Yuri Kinsai is one way to solve this issue by providing protection with glaze.

Moreover, Yuri Kinsai allows for more options for expression because it creates a sense of depth in the patterns through varying gold leaf thickness. At Kinzangama Kiln, the artisans have been preserving the traditional technique of hand painting patterns one by one carefully using brushes.

Patterns are hand painted.

Yukio, the current owner, is the fourth generation. He has been honing his skills, exploring ways of expression suited to the times also while respecting traditional styles. He has been taking innovative approaches, such as watercolor-like painting that uses Western paint, and the utilization of different surface textures before painting.

Always pursuing ways for creating pieces of art that can stand the test of time—the journey of Kinzangama Kiln is still just beginning.

Yukio has also been taking innovative approaches to refresh Kutani ware’s old image.

Some of the pieces made by Kinzangama Kiln

■DATA Kinzangama Kiln Official Website: https://kinzangama.com/home-en/ (Information as of May 2025)

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