KARUNA DEWAYALAGE THILINI MADUSHANI WEERAKOON

A Beautiful Day in Hasami Hasami is a small town in Nagasaki Prefecture, Kyushu. It is about 30 kilometers from Sasebo and can be reached by bus or train. Hasami town is known not only in Japan but all over the world for its beautiful pottery and ceramic products. It is said that the first porcelain was made around 1610, and its production has continued uninterrupted for over 400 years. Hasami town is also home to the world's largest mountaineering whistle.

In the late Edo period (1603-1868), Hasami became one of the largest porcelain producing areas in Japan. One of the reasons Hasami became the largest producer of porcelain in Japan is the production of Kurawanka bowls. What particularly impressed me during my visit was that Hasami was a very quiet and peaceful town. I could also see the townspeople working hard at their pottery manufacturing jobs.

That day, we had the opportunity to visit the village and listen to a lecture on the history of pottery, after which we entered a pottery factory and got to see first-hand the entire production process from start to finish.

After that, we all went to the pizza making area. There, for the first time in my life, I saw how pizza is made in a very large stone oven. I also had the opportunity to make pizza with my own hands and taste it. The Japanese people explained to me in a very easy-to-understand way how to make pizza and how to stretch the dough.

After that, we left the place and went back to the ceramic factory. In the afternoon, we all participated in the pottery making process using the pottery wheel. There, we chose our favorite pottery and made it with the help of the pottery wheel. I had seen how pottery is made on TV before, but it was only when I experienced it that I realized how difficult it is.

It was only after that experience that I understood. I realized that the work requires a lot of patience and perseverance. After the pottery is dried, it needs to be fired in a kiln. To make the fired pottery look beautiful, three methods are used: painting, stamping, and decorating with glazes. By decorating the pottery in this way, it looks better and becomes more valuable.