prato cup + saucer

The main focus of Japanese “Bankoyaki” artisans is to create beautiful and practical pottery suitable for day to day use, resulting in products with a perfect shape. And as time passes by, the daily use of these ceramics will make them more beautiful.

Bankoyaki ceramics are well known all over Japan. The nabe pan for example, with it’s unique heat resistance, covers 80~90 % of the complete Japanese market share. Also the well known traditional Japanese teapot (Kyusu)  is a Bankoyaki product!

Bankoyaki dates back to the 18 century Edo period. The famous Tokaido trade route between Edo (modern day Tokyo) and Kyoto brought prosperity to the region, encouraging local potteries to start producing more ceramics. At the end of the 19th century local manufacturers started to perfection their production techniques for world wide trading. This was the start and build of Japan’s famous name in ceramics all over the world. Till the end of the 20th century the export of ceramics was one of the most important businesses in the Mie prefecture.