 Image search results - "sotoen" |
Shigaraki has a good number of pottery centers and Sotoen (宗陶苑) is major one. I visited for the first time in Aug. 2012. It covers a large ceramic park-like area.
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Sotoen has a very large number of Shigaraki pottery pieces outside in park-like tract. All for sale. Shigaraki ware is known for its weather-resistance, so they are suited for gardens and outdoor use.
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Racks and racks of Shigaraki tanuki or racoon dogs.
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Photo op at Sotoen. They got almost everything you can imagine. The giant tanuki is priced as much as 700,000 yen.
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Overview of the heart of Sotoen.
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Tanuki for sale at Sotoen, Shigaraki.
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Smaller tanuki cost a few thousand yen.
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They also have owls. This one has a camera.
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Crayon no Shinchan.
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Sotoen's main attraction is this noborigama or sloping kiln. Japan's oldest noborigama. The bottom chamber is the furnace where they burn wood. 登り窯
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Sotoen's noborigama kiln is 15 meters wide, 30 meters long, and 3.5 meters high. It has eleven chambers going up a slope. 登り窯
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The heat from the furnace at the bottom chamber rises and seeps into all the chambers. 登り窯
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A noborigama chamber. The chambers get larger toward the top of the noborigama kiln. 登り窯
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"Noborigama" kiln explanation in Japanese. It takes 40-50 days to fill the kiln, and 7-10 days to fire. 登り窯
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"Noborigama" kiln explanation in Japanese
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The top of the noborigama kiln.
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Steps along the side of the noborigama kiln.
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A talk about Shigaraki ware at Sotoen.
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A talk about Shigaraki ware at Sotoen.
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Bento lunch at Sotoen.
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Another highlight of Sotoen was a pottery lesson for beginners. They have a huge pottery classroom.
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First, an instructor demonstrated the basics of pottery making with a block of clay. Easy enough for anyone to make a simple bowl or cup.
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The instructor showed how to smooth the top edge with a wet cloth.
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Here's our block of Shigaraki clay.
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After maybe 20-30 min., my little bowl.
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Another person got more creative. We were going to see the result in Sept.
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Sotoen gift shop.
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They even can make Shigaraki figurines based your likeness if you give them photos of your face.
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Large tanuki.
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Pottery everywhere at Sotoen.
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Frogs are another auspicious pottery piece. Sotoen Web site: shigarakiyaki.co.jp
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