Tsuboya is a pottery district in Naha City, Okinawa Japan and has a history that days back over 300-years.
Known as yachimun in Okinawan language, plates, bowls, figurines, and other pottery produced locally are a functional part of everyday life on Okinawa and the yachimun pottery itself has an interesting story to tell about Okinawa culture, its history, and its people
The Tsuboya pottery district escaped much of the devastation inflicted on the rest of Naha during the Battle of Okinawa, and the streetscape with its narrow winding alleys, known as sujiguwa in the Okinawan language Hogan, gives a glimpse of a time gone by. Tsuboya is a place full of pottery workshops handed down by local families over several generations.
Every year in early November the Tsuboya Yachimun-dōri Matsuri is held but on a daily basis visitors to his pottery district will see local shops that lines the streets selling pottery created by local artists.
Former U.S. Marine and Art Director and contributing photographer to both Okinawa Living Magazine and Okinawa Outdoors Magazine as well as a contributor to Okinawa Guide and the Best of Okinawa Living book published by MCCS Okinawa. I lived 15-years in Okinawa Japan, 2-years in China and am currently a resident and photographer in Denver, Colorado.
John Russell Burgreen III
