The origins of Mikawachi Ware date to the late sixteenth century, around the time of Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s military campaigns on the Korean Peninsula. In 1598, Matsura Shigenobu, lord of the Hirado domain, brought Korean potters back to his territory. One of them, known as Koseki, established a kiln at Nakano in the Hirado domain, an event regarded as the beginning of Hirado Ware and, ultimately, Mikawachi Ware.

As potters searched for better ceramic materials, production gradually shifted toward Mikawachi. Koseki’s son, Imamura Sannojo, played an important role in developing the new production center, and during the early seventeenth century the kilns of Mikawachi were organized under the patronage of the Hirado domain.

During the generation of Sannojo’s son, Yajibei Masakage, potters succeeded in producing white porcelain using materials including Amakusa porcelain stone and stone from the Harioshima area of present-day Sasebo. Mikawachi subsequently developed into a center renowned for exceptionally white porcelain.

Throughout the Edo period, the kilns operated under the protection of the Hirado domain and produced highly refined porcelain for the Imperial Court, the shogunate, and feudal lords. Distinctive techniques and motifs developed during this period, including karako-e designs, openwork carving, chrysanthemum decoration, and intricate hand modeling.

From the late Edo period into the Meiji era, the porcelain became known internationally under the name Hirado Ware. Elaborately carved and modeled works attracted attention in Europe and other overseas markets. Even after the feudal system ended and official domain patronage disappeared, local kilns and craftspeople continued to preserve and develop the tradition.

On February 6, 1978, Mikawachi Ware was designated as a Traditional Craft by the Japanese government. Today, porcelain production continues in the Mikawachi area of Sasebo, preserving techniques such as underglaze blue decoration, karako-e painting, and delicate openwork carving.

1. 1. Stone crushing Mikawachi Ware uses Amakusa potter's stone, which is collected in the city of Amakusa, Kumamoto prefecture. This material is the source of the porcelain's whiteness. One day is spent finely grinding the potter's stone with a special machine until it becomes a powder.
2. 2. Sedimentation tank Since the crushed rock has different sizes and contains grains that are too large to use for porcelain, the grains must be separated by size.
   When placed into water, grains of a larger size sink more quickly than smaller grains. Using this property, the crushed rock is dropped into a sedimentation tank and a filter tank is used to collect only fine-grain particles.
   Then the collected fine grains are placed in a machine called a vacuum drain, which thoroughly removes air and produces clay.
3. 3. Casting The clay formed by the sedimentation tank is cast on a potter's wheel or by hand. Casting is an important factor in determining the shape of the porcelain.
   Futhermore, there are various techniques applied during the casting stage when the pieces being made are ornaments. Techniques often used in Mikawachi Ware are sukashi bori to curve and bore holes, tebineri to express lively animals and vegetation and pasting to attach the items to other pieces of unglazed pottery.
4. 4. Drying The potter's clay is then thoroughly dried in the sunlight and the rough parts of the surface are shaved to produce a smooth surface.
5. 5. Bisque The bisque firing, the first firing before any glaze is applied, is done for around seven hours at a high temperature of 900℃ (about 1292℉).
   Bisque firing is carried out in order to make it easier to perform the next process, which is decorative coating.
6. 6. Undercoating After the bisque firing, the ceramics are not necessarily pure. If dust is attached to the surface, it will be mixed up with the paint and there is a risk that the item will be ruined. Therefore, before undercoating is applied, dust is removed by thoroughly polishing with a dry cloth.
   For this process, an asbolite pigment is used. Painting is performed with care using a writing brush. Asbolite is a grayish color at the undercoating stage, but when fired it becomes a marvelous vivid blue dye.
   After the undercoating, a thick brush is used to apply dark asbolite called dami in order to express shading.
7. 7. Glazing After applying an undercoat, enamel is applied all over. By applying the enamel, a glass-like transparency is produced and strength is reinforced.
8. 8. Glaze firing Then, once the enamel has been thoroughly applied all over, pieces are fired for fifteen to twenty hours at around 1300℃ (around 2372℉), which is even higher than the temperature used in bisque firing.
   A particularly important part is after the glaze firing process. Cracks will be found if the pieces are suddenly taken away from a high temperature place to a room temperature place. To avoid that, the pieces are cooled over time before being removed from the kiln.
9. 9. Overcoating Mikawachi Ware with its characteristic vivid blue, is often inspected after glaze firing and sent out. However, there can be an overcoat when further coloring like red or another color is applied.
   After the overcoating, the pieces are thoroughly baked by glaze firing, which involves firing at around 750℃ (1382℉) for approximately seven hours to settle the coloring.