Ontayaki is a traditional pottery that has been handed down for 300 years in the mountains of Hita City, Oita Prefecture.
Its roots lie in the brother kiln of Koishiwara ware (Fukuoka), which was opened in 1600 AD by potters brought from Korea .
Therefore, many of the techniques are common to Koishiwara.
The history of Ontayaki begins with Mr. Yanase who was invited from Koishiwara and Mr. Kuroda from Hita.
It has a history as long as Koishiwara ware (Fukuoka) and Ryumonji ware (Kagoshima), which have a history of about 400 years . It is said that the name was widely known throughout the country, and was highly evaluated by Bernard Leach.
Techniques are handed down from parent to child in a hereditary system. Currently, there are only 9 potteries that have followed the flow since the opening of the kiln.
While other production areas are increasingly mechanized with the times, Ontayaki uses the soil of the nearby mountains as raw material, borrows the power of the river, and all the processes are done by hand with the participation of the whole family. I'm doing it.
It is as if time has stopped, and it is said that the process of making pottery has not changed for over 300 years .
It is a unique system for making Ontayaki. Everyone brings back pottery clay from the sarayama in the back , crushes it, and grinds it with a mortar for 10 to 20 days to make it into powder. It is then elutriated and filtered in a water tank. Then, the water is drained on a platform called “Oro” and finally the clay becomes pottery clay.
Molding is done on a kick potter's wheel, and the hill is carved out in a semi-dry state. 
Sun dried of course.
The brush marks, flying planes, and uchigake decorations are glazed, all raw, and not unglazed.
And finally, it is fired, of course, in a climbing kiln.
Using old wood and cedar, it takes more than two days to fire in a shared kiln.
Allow to cool slowly over 2-3 days.
Ontayaki is what has gone through the above processes. No machines are used, and no craftsmen or apprentices are hired. This is the tradition and unique system of Ontayaki.
There are a total of 10 Ontayaki kilns,
Yanase, Kuroki, Sakamoto, and Obukuro (Kuroki lineage) are the four kilns, all descended from open kilns.
Currently, 5 out of 10 kilns are joint kilns, and 5 kilns are private kilns, but they all share the brand "Ontayaki" and do not put individual names on the pottery. .
Our shop dares to purchase and sell the brand of "Ontayaki" of this joint kiln, so the name of Ontayaki is written on the bottom of all the vessels.
Mr. Hajime Sakamoto who seems to represent Ontayaki now. If you look at this youtube, you can understand the charm and culture of Ontayaki itself, so please take a look.