‘Arita porcelain and Imari yaki are very similar, they both have beautiful form, realistic imagery and are painted upon before firing.’

‘Where Imari porcelain differs is in its depiction of nature. You’ll find far more flowers, birds and occasionally animals on Imari-yaki.’

‘We have to fight to keep the tradition alive. At Hataman, our kiln is open to the public, so people can learn how the pieces are made and hopefully find inspiration. We produce both pieces of art and pieces of function. Our industrial pottery is a training ground for those that will go on to become artisans. We produce 2,000-3,000 industrial pieces a month, in the same time we will produce one or two artisan pieces.’

‘We need to innovate. We have created pieces using traditional materials, but in a modern style. We have produced some perfume bottles, which I am very proud of.’

‘It’s a tough job. We fire pottery up to six times, and it can shrink by up to 15 per cent, and this happens after painting, so you have to be able to think ahead. Imagine how difficult it is to make something as small as a perfume lid in those circumstances…’