Oumei Kamamoto

Another small family run kiln, Oumei Kamamoto is in the hills of Fukuoka prefecture. They make Koishiwara style pottery with its characteristic chiselled Tobikanna decoration, hakeme brushstrokes and splashes of yellow and turquoise.

It is a typical conundrum that our Makers face: stay traditional and risk being seen as old-fashioned or take a chance and try and follow fashion, which may only work in the short term. Oumei ride this balance like everyone else, and they have developed a new chalkier glaze for their tableware but at the cost of their old style glazes. We still try and encourage them to keep the old knowledge alive and we will see if we can't resurrect their Takatori style glaze in a year or two!