Tokoname has been associated with ceramics production since at least the Heian period, and Tokoname-yaki works from this period have been found in locations as far away as Aomori Prefecture in the north of Japan and Kagoshima prefecture in the south. By the Kamakura period, over 3000 kilns were active. During the Sengoku period, the area came under the control of the Isshiki clan, and later came under the rule of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi.
During the Edo period, the area around present-day Tokoname was part of Owari Domain. In the post Meiji Restoration cadastral reforms of 1889, the town of Tokoname was created.
Originally, items such as vases were fired using a method known as shizenyu yakijime, in which pottery is fired without glaze. Later, Tokoname ware became famous for the production of earthenware pipes, and is now widely known for pottery using red clay. Tokoname ware was designated a traditional craft in 1976 (quote: Japan National Tourism Organization)
Tokoname-City, Aichi-Prefecture, Japan
May 2015, Olympus OM-D E-M1
中部国際空港（セントレア）から羽田帰京便に乗る前に数時間の待ち時間があり，隣駅の常滑市内を散策しました。
常滑焼の起源は平安時代まで遡るそうですが，市内には窯元を巡る散策路が整備され，随所に愛らしい陶器の人形達が飾られています。
焼物に興味のある方々には是非訪れて欲しいまちなみです。
愛知県常滑市
2015年5月撮影，Olympus OM-D E-M1
