HOME > Japan’s Local Treasures > Kutani Kiln Kinzangama in Ishikawa
View the home base of a Living National Treasure and experience the beauty of gold Kutani Ware
Komatsu Tourism & Local Products Network
Kutani Ware is one of the representative crafts of Ishikawa Prefecture, and Kinzangama Kiln in Komatsu City is a place where you can encounter this renowned ceramic tradition up close.
Established in 1906, Kinzangama is one of the oldest existing Kutani kilns and has kept its fires burning over many generations. Among the diverse styles of Kutani Ware, Kinzangama specializes in a particularly brilliant sort that features the use of gold leaf. In fact, the third-generation kiln head, Yoshita Minori, is recognized as a Living National Treasure for his refinement of a gold leaf technique known as yuri kinsai.
Learn more about the intricacies of yuri kinsai through a tour of the very studio where Minori and the current generation of ceramists create their works. Then step into Gallery Mutan for an intimate firsthand experience of these works in gold. Set up by Yoshita Yukio, the current fourth-generation kiln head, the gallery not only provides a tranquil setting where you can admire Kinzangama’s latest works, but also lets you try your hand at gold-leaf decoration and design your own one-of-a-kind ceramic case.
Tours and workshops are by appointment only via the contact form on the Kinzangama website. Feel free to discuss special arrangements such as dining in the enchanting gallery space.
How to get there
By train: From Tokyo Station, take the JR Hokuriku Shinkansen to Kanazawa Station (about 2 hours 30 minutes). From Kanazawa, take the Limited Express on the Hokuriku Main Line to Komatsu Station (about 20 minutes).
By air: From Haneda Airport, fly to Komatsu Airport (about 1 hour).
Kinzangama is 15 minutes by car from Komatsu Station or Komatsu Airport.
To-18 Takando-machi, Komatsu-shi, Ishikawa-ken
