On September 8th, my host family (my hostmother, her daughter, and her daughter’s two children aged 4 and 6) took me to a pottery festival in Seto. Seto is a medium sized town north of where I live in Miyoshi. It took about 45 minutes to drive there. Most of the pottery at the festival was handmade and came from the local pottery industry. Local pottery makers and food vendors set up hundreds of stalls all along the main street of Seto and the surrounding side streets.
Ceramic sandals ( zori- ぞり )
Many of the pottery pieces featured cats, which are considered a symbol of luck throughout Japan. I will explain a bit more about the importance of cats to pottery later. Much of the pottery at the festival featured different designs or characteristics that make that pottery unique. The Japanese that attended the festival appeared to mainly buy pottery that fit the different characteristics of members of their family rather than pottery that goes in specific sets. Most of the dining ware of my own host family follows this pattern. At the festival, my okaasan (hostmother- お母さん) bought me a rice bowl to use at meals. Additionally, most of the pottery at the festival was competitively priced with most pieces having prices ranging from 100 yen to 2000yen (about $1.20-$24).
Leaf shaped pottery
I loved the nature designs on these sets of plates.
A winter design
One of the many shrines that pops up everywhere in Japan, this one was located between buildings along the main street that the festival was held on.
The main street in Seto ran along a stream over which several bridges had been built. Each bridge featured ceramic plaques or other forms of pottery built into the bridge construction. Other areas throughout the town also displayed pottery publically.
Ceramic plates included in the bridge design depicting agricultural work
Another ceramic plate
Maneki-neko are cat statues that are symbols of fortune in much of Japan. The Maneki-neko museum contained hundreds of these cat statues, including many that were several decades old. The museum also included a shop where many more cat related items were sold.
Ceramic maneki-neko (まねきねこ)
Bobble-head cats in the maneki-neko shop
More maneki-neko (まねきねこ)
Within the museum itself, most of the maneki-neko were kept locked in glass cases.
A giant blow-up maneki-neko outside the museum.
After visiting the maneki-neko museum, we went to eat lunch at one of the multitude of small restaurants on an indoor bazaar. The restaurant featured traditional Japanese tables which are built low to the ground. You sit on the floor on cushions. I found that this was one of the most painful parts of being in Japan, because even with the cushions, it very easy for your legs to fall asleep and become numb especially when sitting seiza (せいざ) with your legs tucked under you. We ate yakisoba at the bazaar, but in Seto I also had yakitako (やきたこ), which is octopus wrapped in a ball of fried vegetables along with rice baked on to a stick and dipped in miso sauce.
Lamps hanging in the bazaar area
Eating yakisoba（やきそば）with my okaasan, Taeko.
Yakisoba is a fried dish made with soba, buckwheat noodles.
Yuta (the grandson) eating yakisoba
Mayu (the granddaughter) eating yakisoba
After eating at the restaurant in the bazaar we walked back through the festival area and then returned home with a brief stop at a cafe. Here are a few more pictures of pottery from the festival.
I really liked the dragon on this piece of pottery. It was one of several in a glass display.
I picked this picture because of the extraordinary latticework on the pottery.
This piece reminded me of autumn colors back home, which unfortunately (or fortunately perhaps) do not come until November here.
An example of the variety of designs found at a single stall.
No comments:
Post a Comment