About MIYAKE CERAMICS

Our company is in Toki, Gifu Prefecture, which produces more than one-third of Japan's domestic ceramic tableware—the country's largest ceramics center. Together with neighboring Tajimi and Mizunami, this region accounts for nearly half of national output by some estimates.

During Japan's postwar boom, people said murky water in the Toki River meant business was good. Today Mino ware is everywhere in homes and restaurants. For those of us who grew up playing in cardboard meant for shipping ceramics and sketching on the pavement with plaster scraps, pottery is part of daily life—and a point of local pride.

From plain white ware to vividly hand-painted pieces, Mino ware offers enormous variety—but because it touches food, safety comes first. Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare sets limits on lead and cadmium that can leach from glazes and overglaze pigments into food.

We coordinate with each partner factory, push for lead-free glazes and pigments, and were early adopters of an in-glaze firing kiln (the Bunten kiln) to support safer tableware in Japan and overseas. Finished goods are tested periodically for lead and cadmium leaching at municipal labs, and our processes meet the ISO-class inspection standards our international customers expect.

From sushi to tempura and ramen, Japanese food abroad is no longer a passing trend—it is part of how many people eat every day. Twenty years ago in the U.S., Japanese restaurants often catered mainly to Japanese residents; that picture has changed almost beyond recognition. Home cooks and hosts are making sushi for parties, exports keep climbing, and when eating out was restricted, fine Japanese tableware became a popular gift.

“Tableware is the dress of cuisine.” — Kitaoji Rosanjin

We will keep sharing Japanese food—and the tableware that completes it—from Japan's foremost ceramics region.