Kyoto Seiyokai Hall

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A chance to spend a day making pottery in a true ceramic setting - courses popular with tourists and visiting school groups

Courses to experience Kiyomizu pottery

Sennyuji Temple district, where many Kyoto potters have gathered since early 20th century to live and work, has been home to many famous ceramic artists and commercial potters. Today, there are some 30 workshops in the area, creating variety of pieces. Some 50 years ago, an association named Seiyokai was formed by young potters striving to preserve the tradition and to create new ceramic technologies and promote the Kiomizu pottery among citizens and tourists.
The hall exhibits some 200 pieces of pottery created by the member potters.
These are available for purchase as well. The hall also offers very popular pottery courses: the courses on decorating a bisque ware using the underglaze technique (shitae) in cobalt blue pigment (gosu), hand-forming a cup/bowl/plate on a hand wheel using the coil technique (tebineri),or throwing a cup/bowl/plate on an electric wheel. From there on,an expert will finish off the pieces by glazing and firing them (about 30 days are needed to finish the pieces). In addition, a “workshop tour” is available for visitors who would like to visit the actual pottery workplace. Also, every November, the hall stages the popular “Momiji Matsuri” (autumn festival).