The roots of Japanese porcelain part 2

Day three of our grand adventure started chilly and rainy.  After another hearty breakfast, we said goodbye to our lovely nakai san, the person who looked after us during our stay, and boarded the train for Arita.  I had a vague idea from the guidebook that Arita would be nothing like Imari geographically and I was right.  It is very spread out and you really need a car to get around.  The nice thing about travelling with elderly parents is that they no longer feel the need to do things the hard way.  We got into the first taxi outside the train station just as the rain started for real.  There is a kanko taxi (sightseeing taxi) tradition in many parts of Japan where a taxi can either take you somewhere on the meter or just charge you by the hour and take you around town.  Our driver was really nice and so we opted to have this man show us around until it was time to board our train back to Hakata.

First, he took us to the site where they first found the rock that became porcelain.  It was truly impressive and very atmospheric since by then it was pouring.  He said most of the material now comes from another area in Kyushu but there is still one pottery that makes some of their porcelain with rock from this quarry.

Then we went on to Tozan jinja, a shrine with a gate and many objects made out of Arita pottery.  The colours had faded so it wasn't as impressive as the photos in the guide book but it was still great to see.  I pulled a fortune, my second in two days, as I also got one at Imari jinja the day before.  Not only were they both Dai kichi, the best you could get, but they were identical.  An astounding coincidence, I am planning to heed the fortune very carefully.

The weather was clearing and the driver then took us around to a couple of different potters.  It was a very different experience from the day before.  This was like going to a museum, the pieces were exquisite and very expensive.  So it was much more a look and appreciate rather than think about owning.  This is the house of one of the famous potters.  You are looking at his teahouse and to the right, the house he grew up in.  The family have built a more modern house directly behind the one on the right and they live there now.  The workshops are on the property as well as the showroom.  The tree in front is a persimmon.  They say he observed the fruit to come up with the brilliant vermilion color he used in his work.  Only the heir is allowed to use the color, they are currently on the 14th generation.

It turns out there were outlets and more places where things were actually affordable but we ran out of time and really I think it was a good thing since anything I buy I have to bring home and I did just ship 3 boxes of my mom's old china back home.  It turns out one set is from a famous maker in Arita so I already had my piece of Arita.

We bought eki ben (bento meant to be eaten on the train) and boarded our train back to Hakata and then back to the airport.  We got home safely and we were all pretty beat, especially my parents who are not used to schlepping non stop.

I love visiting different parts of Japan every year when I come to see my parents, I hope one day I can make the same trip with my family.  There is so much to Japan outside of Tokyo and these trips really make me appreciate the history and the traditions that have shaped Japan.  It is so much easier to wax lyrical about your own country when you don't live there and don't have to put up with the everyday annoyances.  Maybe that's the best thing about being an expatriate.

My time here is almost done and reality waits at home.  It's been a great couple of weeks with all it's ups and downs.


Sorry about this link, I can't get rid of it.