On Wednesday, July 15th, the 74th kiln opening ceremony was held at our university's Kakiemon-style kiln *, and approximately 500 pieces were removed from the kiln, including works by students from Department of Living Environment Design Faculty of Art and Design. This time, the kiln also included works by local residents who participated in the public lecture "Introduction to Pottery Experience" held at the university on Sunday, June 7th.
Under the guidance of Professor Seiji Takamori of the Department Department of Living Environment Design Faculty of Art and Design, students took turns burning firewood in a kiln that reached a maximum temperature of 1,200 degrees Celsius for approximately 20 hours, from Wednesday, July 8th to Thursday, July 9th.
Six days after firing, on Wednesday, July 15th, while the residual heat was still present, the pieces were taken out of the kiln. The collection included large plates, vases, teacups, and many unique pieces, and the students were checking each other's work to see how well they had turned out.
At the kiln opening ceremony, local residents who had participated in the workshops came to observe, and they shared comments such as, "I was curious to see what shape the pieces I made with my own hands had taken. My first pottery experience was a wonderful time, and I was taught carefully by the instructors and students." There were also scenes of students enthusiastically explaining the kiln's mechanism and the finished works to the visitors.
At our university, we offer a variety of public lectures throughout the year for people of all ages, from children to the elderly, in order to give back to society the intellectual property of our education and research. Anyone is welcome to participate, so please feel free to register.
* The Kakiemon-style kiln at this university was designed in October 2000 by the late 14th generation Kakiemon Sakaida, an Arita ware ceramic artist and Living National Treasure, with the desire to "let young people aspiring to the arts directly experience the profoundness of traditional crafts." It was constructed by specialized craftsmen and follows the Kakiemon kiln's wood-fired kiln, which had been kept secret and never revealed to outsiders, and is a wood-fired kiln that combines the functions of a climbing kiln and a single kiln. With the completion of a new Kakiemon-style wood-fired kiln (Arita-cho, Nishimatsuura-gun, Saga Prefecture) designed by the 15th generation Kakiemon Sakaida in January 2026, this kiln is the only one in the world that preserves the structure of the traditional Kakiemon-style wood-fired kiln before its renovation.
[Department of Living Environment Design]
