有田焼 (Arita-yaki)
Arita-yaki (有田焼) is Japan's first true porcelain tradition — established after Korean potter Yi Sam-pyeong discovered the kaolin deposit at Izumiyama in 1616 CE, and quickly becoming Japan's primary export ceramic to Europe through the Dutch East India Company (VOC) shipping from the port of Imari. Arita porcelain transformed European ceramics: Meissen, Delft, and Chantilly were all established specifically to produce European equivalents of Arita ware. The tradition encompasses three distinct decorative styles: ko-Imari (古伊万里 — old Imari: dense cobalt blue underglaze with overglaze red and gold), kakiemon (柿右衛門 — asymmetric painting on milky-white nigoshide body), and nabeshima (鍋島 — feudal domain official ware with precise comb-tooth foot ring pattern). The nigoshide (乳白手 — milky white) porcelain body of kakiemon is the most difficult technical achievement — a specific clay and glaze combination producing a warm opaque white unlike any other porcelain.
Risk level: Endangered · Japan national Important Intangible Cultural Property (kakiemon: nigoshide technique; nabeshima: official ware techniques)
Production of incense sticks on Awaji Island, Hyogo, which makes about 70% of Japan’s incense.
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