KAKURA brings handmade Japanese pottery from the kiln towns of Kasama and Mashiko to homes around the world. Every piece is made by a named potter in Japan.
OUR NAME
Our name, 佳藏 (KAKURA), is made of two Japanese characters. 佳 (KA) means fine, beautiful, of good quality. 藏 (KURA) is the traditional Japanese storehouse, thick-walled and fire-resistant, where families kept what they valued most. KAKURA is our storehouse of fine Japanese craft, opened to the world.
WHY WE EXIST
Search online for Japanese pottery and you will find plenty of it. But it is not always clear where a piece was made, or by whom, and much of it is mass-produced. At the same time, hundreds of skilled potters are at work in Japan's kiln towns, and many of them have no easy way to reach people overseas.
KAKURA exists to close that gap: to bring you the real thing, and to bring the makers' work to the people who will use and cherish it.
WHERE IT'S MADE
We begin with Kasama, a pottery town in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo. Potters have fired kilns here since the 1770s, making it one of the oldest pottery centers in the Kanto region.
In 1992, Kasama ware was designated a Traditional Craft of Japan by the national government. Today around 300 potters and kilns work in the area. Kasama has no single house style. Each potter chooses their own clay, glazes, and firing, so every studio has a voice of its own.
Just over the hills lies Mashiko, whose pottery tradition was started by a potter who learned his craft in Kasama. In 2020, Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs recognized the two towns together as a Japan Heritage story, "Kasamashiko." From these two towns, we will expand to other Japanese crafts as we find makers we trust.
HOW WE WORK
Many of our pieces begin as a conversation with the potter. We share what people around the world are looking for, such as a matcha bowl that sits well in the hand or a vase for a single branch. We settle the shape, size, and glaze together, and the potter brings it to life by hand in their studio.
Other pieces come from the maker's own collection, chosen by us one by one. Either way, every piece is made by hand in the maker's studio in Japan. We never sell factory reproductions, or anything made elsewhere and sold as Japanese.
FROM JAPAN TO YOU
Every order is carefully packed in Japan, double-boxed for the long journey, and shipped with tracking. Choosing a piece from KAKURA means choosing the clay, the fire, and the hands of a potter in Japan. We hope it finds a place on your table for many years to come. Questions about a piece or a maker? Write to us through our contact page. We are always happy to help.