Guide to Hasami Porcelain Tableware

Each and every piece of Hasami porcelain is one-of-a-kind. While the shapes themselves are uniform, the colouration, flecks and texture tend to unavoidably express the distinct make-up of their making clay. 

Hasami porcelain tableware is made in the historic town of Hasami, located in Nagasaki prefecture of Japan. For more than 400 years, the proprietary mixture of crushed stone from Amakusa used in this clay and porcelain mixture has created some of the most beautiful pottery in the world. 

Some Common Variations 

Due to the organic nature of the porcelainware used for Hasami, unavoidable variations, colour unevenness, and also what Hasami craftspeople call ‘staining’ appear in all Hasami porcelain products. The result of irrepressible chemical reactions between the glaze and the raw materials during the extreme firing process creates the variations. 

The difference in both colour and texture is not considered second quality, nor is it considered defective or desirable amongst the Hasami craftsmen community. It is a prized sign of the beauty of the line’s one-of-a-kind character and nature. 

Hasami porcelain dinnerware pieces appear ‘cooler’ and ‘warmer’ in tone and colour when they are stacked or grouped together. For this particular reason, it is not quite possible to create or select uniform sets where every piece is “matching”. Instead, people must enjoy this variety and understand that the natural material is expressing itself in the finished product. 

Hasami porcelain is a stackable ceramics line. Achieving this particular design needs highly skilled craftspeople and many other factors, such as environmental conditions outside the kiln, happen to pose many different challenges. The textural variations that you see in Hasami porcelain are evidence of the human hands involved in the process and the many environmental variations that occur at each step. These textural variations are not avoidable and are not a defect. 

Hasami porcelain is dishwasher and microwave safe, but not oven safe or safe enough to put over an open flame. 

A frequent or hard impact can cause chipping to hasami porcelain. Cracking and breaking must not occur from normal daily use, although this is not impossible with human error. These are also intended for ‘home use’ and not ‘commercial use’ as they may not withstand high traffic usage or restaurant dishwashers.