The Potter's Wheel

Kiyomizu-yaki has been made in the hills east of Kyoto for over four hundred years. The clay changes with the season; the glaze recipes are handed down inside families rather than written in books; the kiln's temperature is read by colour, not thermometer. This session takes place in a working studio in the Higashiyama district — not a tourist pottery class, but a real introduction to the discipline as its practitioners understand it.

Under the guidance of a certified ceramics master, you will centre clay on the wheel, open the form, and pull the walls of a bowl or cup to your chosen shape. The master will work alongside you on a second wheel, correcting your grip and timing in real time. Once the piece is trimmed and signed, it enters the studio's kiln cycle and is shipped to your address when fired — typically two to three weeks later.

Highlights

• —Wheel-throwing session guided by a certified Kiyomizu-yaki master in a working studio
• —Master works alongside you on a second wheel — real-time grip and form correction
• —Your piece trimmed, signed, kiln-fired in the studio's cycle, and shipped to your address
• —Introduction to the four-hundred-year lineage of Kiyomizu-yaki and its clay traditions