THE ASAHI POTTERY in UJI. Text by Miyako Matsubayashi. Photography by Shibata Akisuke. An illustrated history of Asahiyaki, the famous pottery kiln in Uji, Japan, its gardens and grounds, and the multi-generational family of potters that have made tea ceramics there for over 400 years.

Published by Asahi Pottery, Uji, Kyoto, Japan, 1991. 1st Edition.

Softcovers, French flaps, 8.5x11.5 inches (21x29.5 cm), 126 pages, illustrated throughout with color photographs. Text in Japanese and English..

FINE CONDITION: looks and feels barely read, tight, bright, clean, clear and unmarked. A lovely copy.

About Asahiyaki (from the Company's website, which leads with the tagline "Asahiyaki Uji, Kyoto, Since 1600"):

******ASAHIYAKI is located in the Uji region of Kyoto Prefecture which is known as the center of tea culture, just across the Uji River at the foot of Mount Asahi, opposite the Byodo-In Temple. ASAHIYAKI started the pottery works about 400 years ago during the Keicho era (Momoyama Edo period) under the guidance of Kobori Enshu. It is regarded as one of the "Enshu Seven Kilns (Enshu Nanagama)". In the times tea masters such as Sen-No-Rikyu and Kobori Enshu were active, the first kiln master Tosaku used Mt. Asahi pottery clay to create tea utensils such as tea bowls and freshwater containers that were favored by daimyo and tea masters.

After that, ASAHIYAKI have continued to make tea utensils in Uji without interruption for generations, in the latter half of the Edo period, the eighth generation Chobei started to make the sencha wares that is the prototype of the current shape. ASAHIYAKI grew up with the development of tea culture in Uji. ASAHIYAKI will continue to cherish the tea culture of the past and continue to walk with them.******