On the slope of a mountain, a white-walled museum stands as if cradled by the hillside. Its collection has two main pillars: “old ceramics linked to Hyogo” and “contemporary ceramic art.” Its mission is to broadly present ceramic culture from the past to the present, East and West – it’s truly a “museum of ceramic art.”

Among its exhibits, those that examine the past, present, and future of Tambayaki eloquently speak to the depth of pottery culture that lives here. The works are not just display pieces. Each piece has its own story – how it took shape, how it was fired, how it was used, and how it accumulated time. Those processes seep into the space as if the pieces themselves were speaking.

To complete a piece, the clay is formed, dried, bisque-fired, glazed, and then fired again. What’s more, the piece shrinks by about 20% in the kiln, so it must be shaped in anticipation of that. In other words, the finished form is always a “future you cannot see.”

This museum showcases the works of artists who have continued to explore the essence of pottery.
There are also works of Tambayaki. They are crystallizations of beauty in which the accidents of natural ash glaze are accepted, yet the elements are arranged with intention.

Within the gentle colors of red clay and the soft forms characteristic of Tamba, you can feel the local sense of beauty intertwined with the demands of the times.

From excavated shards at old kiln sites to ambitious pieces by contemporary artists, both the “present” and “future” of Tambayaki are displayed here.

Supported by 800 years of technique and material, these pieces continue to explore forms that fit easily into people’s lives and are a joy to use.

To walk through this museum is not merely to “view” pottery, but to “have a conversation” with it.
Please listen carefully to the voices of the pottery. The time and sensibilities that dwell within them will quietly reach into your own life as well.