Mumyoi ware is a type of pottery made of mumyoi clay, which contains ferrous oxide and is obtained near the ancient goldmine on Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture. Originally, mumyoi was used for medical purposes such as relieving symptoms of palsy, digestive problems, burns, and helping to stop bleeding.

The pottery was first produced in 1819, when they were fired at relatively low temperature. The large-scale production adopting high-temperature firing was started in 1857. Unlike other clay wares, Mumyoi ware requires extra processing efforts such as raw-polish, a process that polishes the products with cotton cloth before firing, and a process of polishing with sand after firing.

As Mumyoi pottery is fired in a kiln at a high temperature, it becomes exceptionally hard. It is well-known that Mumyoi ware produces a clear metallic sound when tapped. The more it is used, the glossier it becomes. Mumyoi ware is more suitable for daily use rather than for decorative purposes.

Shizutani Gakko is the first school of its kind for the general public in Japan, and was established some 330 years ago by order of Mitsumasa Ikeda, lord of the Bizen domain.

Shizutani Gakko is located in Shizutani, in the town of Bizen, Okayama Prefecture. From its foundation, the school's education was based on Confucianism. Students from other domains could enrol at the school, while many scholars and intellectuals often came here.

After the Meiji period, Shizutani Gakko became a middle school in the education system at that time. It then became a high school under the new education system, and is now a prefectural youth education center. Over more than 300 years, many talented people have graduated from the school.

Structurally, Shizutani Gakko is distinguished by its Bizen yaki roof tiles. When the school was being built, a kiln was specially made nearby and craftsmen from Ibe were brought over. The roof tiles give the school the appearance of a Confucian temple. The hog-backed stone walls that enclose the school premises are also beautiful. They were made in imitation of Chinese-style construction with stones carefully placed. Most of the construction features inside Shizutani Gakko, including the temple and the stone walls, have been designated as either national treasures or important cultural assets.

Onta-yaki is a high-fired ceramic ware made in valleys in the Onta region around Hita in Oita Prefecture.

Yanase Miemon, a potter from Chikuzen, was the first craftsman to modify high-fired Koishiwara ware and create Onta ware during the Edo period. To fire Onta ware, Miemon used a 'richokei noborigama' (richo-type multi-chambered climbing kiln) made by Kuroki Jubei from Otsuru.

Over 300 years, Onta ware has come to employ many different decorative techniques, including 'tobikana' (distinct patterns),'hakeme' (slip brushing), 'kushigaki' ('combed' lines), 'uchikake' (waterfall patterns), and 'nagashi'. These designs are made using a variety of colors, such as celadon green, black, amber and yellow.

A well-known story goes that, in 1954 and 1964, Bernard Howell Leach, the prominent British studio potter, visited Hita in Oita and made some Onta ware himself.

Today, the process of preparing the clay continues as it always has with, for example, the 'karausu' (a crusher that uses rivers and rapids for molding clay), which slowly and surely kneads the clay for the different potteries. Preparations such as this help to protect the long history and tradition of Onta ware. In 1995, Onta ware was designated as an important cultural heritage of Japan.