The inherited techniques of Kyoto-style pottery
Shunzan-gama is a third-generation pottery maker located in Sennyu-ji temple area which has long been abundant in kilns. The studio has inherited the distinguishing style of Ogata Kenzan (1663-1743), a potter active in the middle of the Edo period. The works of Shunzan-gama are well known for their characteristic flower designs completely covering the surface which still preserves the tenderness of soft clay. The studio creates the earthenware adapted to the modern lifestyle, mastering the colorful painting and openwork carving techniques of Kyoto-style pottery cultivated through its 100-year-old history.

Sacred purity of unfinished wood
The studio is specializing in woodworking, producing furnishings and votive objects for Shinto shrines and religious ceremonies. Ceremonial implements are generally made of unfinished wood without any lacquer coating. Beautiful white-grained hinoki (Japanese cypress) wood is believed to represent the concept of purity so important in Shinto religion. Sometimes artisan even purifies himself and puts on white clothing before starting to work. The impressive array of assembled woodwork planes can tell you a remarkable story of Kyoto traditional wood joint-making and bending techniques.

Kyoyaki / Kiyomizuyaki pottery Touan was founded in 1922 at Higashiyama Sennyuji Temple in Kyoto. There are approximately 20 craftsmen working on the molding and painting in the main pottery studio.

Touan  is characterized by its vivid colors and unparalleled strength. 　Kiyomizuyaki is known for its “overglaze painting,”　but  Touan uses “underglaze painting,”

The fourth generation of Yoshiaki Dobuchi, now the head of the pottery, developed and established “Hana Kessho-Krystal,” which can be enjoyed in a wide variety of crystal forms.

( Source from the company’s website )

Among the pottery class experiences offered at the Toan , we focuses on programs for beginners.

Weaving company that has continued to progress since 1930.

We have a point that sets us apart from the many Nishijin textile manufacturers. We manufacture our own gold thread, which is the material used in our products.

The products woven using the original gold thread named “Nenkin Yarn” are extremely rare as a traditional industry, and are highly valued both in Japan and overseas, particularly by the imperial family.

Our company is a group of paper processing professionals who have been involved in the paper industry for nearly 100 years.
We have been producing products for various temples and shrines for many years.
Products are made by a combination of craftsmen’s hands and machines, using thin to thick paper and fabrics.
Various custom-made products are created by combining various skilled techniques such as cutting, folding, pasting, wrapping, rolling, and binding.

Sozugama is a potter’s studio where craftsmen who have inherited the techniques of Kyoto’s Kiyomizu-yaki and Fukuoka’s Koishiwara-yaki.
The celadon of the Sozugama kiln expresses a deep blue color by kneading pigment into the fabric and applying a glaze.
Adding the Koishiwara-yaki technique of “tobikanna” to the clay, the glaze pools in the grooves of the scraped clay and regular patterns emerge.
In this way, we are exploring a new world of celadon that cannot be found anywhere else.In recent years, we have also focused on developingoverseas sales channels and have incorporated the experience gained overseas into new works of art,including Western-style tableware.
We are also developing a wide range of products, including accessories with a story behind them, which are original to the Sohgama brand.

Nozomu Takagi, a lacquerware master, established this new studio in 2017 after 13 years of training in Kyoto, Japan, to carry on the techniques of Kyoto lacquerware.

Kyo-lacquerware flourished with the introduction of lacquer culture from the ancient capital of Nara to the Heian period in 794.

Having developed along with the tea ceremony, it possesses an inner beauty of wabi( simple elegance) and sabi( refinement).

Discerning tea masters, who were involved in the tea ceremony in various ways, required tea caddies, confectionery containers, trays, and other items to serve matcha tea.

The studio produces tea ceremony utensils and tableware, and also repairs and restores arts and crafts, such as the restoration of the Ofunaboko floats used in the Gion Festival.

Lacquer is the sap of the lacquer tree, a precious gift of nature that can only be extracted from a mature tree 10 to 15 years old in the amount of one milk bottle.

We have been purchasing the collected lacquer and refining and blending it.

As time goes by, the refining technology and equipment have progressed, and we have changed from the hand-made Kurome at the beginning of the company to the mechanical refining using a “kurome bachi,” or literally, “blackened bowl.”

Our appreciation for lacquer has remained unchanged since the company’s founding: “Not even a drop of lacquer should be wasted.

We are providing a lacquer that meets the needs of our customers.

Founded in 1919, Yokoyama Chikuzai-ten has been preserving the traditional techniques handed down by “Kyoto’s bamboo craftsmen”.
The company produces traditional bamboo materials such as Kyo-mei-take and sukiya tea ceremony materials, Japanese style building materials, garden materials, and bamboo crafts.
We are a bamboo materials store that also handles work for important cultural properties, shrines and temples.
TAKENOKO also provides hands-on classes in addition to selling bamboo handicrafts.

Silvery gloss created by careful polishing
Silvery gloss is the greatest feature of Kyo-gawara, the tiles that cover the roofs of temples and shrines. Kyoto tiles are made from high-quality clay, polished with a metal spatula until they are shiny and fired in a kiln at a high temperature. Asada Kawara is the only factory which still produces Kyoto tiles by hand. Onigawara (ridge-end tiles bearing the face of a demon), an indispensable element of traditional buildings, are reproduced here for restoration purposes after a thorough research about their style, materials and production method.