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Mashiko

Mashiko
益子町
Town
Mashiko Town Office
Mashiko Town Office

Flag

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Location of Mashiko in
Mashiko is located in Japan
Mashiko
Mashiko
 
Coordinates: Coordinates:
Country Japan
Region Kantō
Prefecture
District
Area
 • Total 89.40 km2 (34.52 sq mi)
Population (May 2015)
 • Total 23,400
 • Density 262/km2 (680/sq mi)
Time zone Japan Standard Time (UTC+9)
Symbols  
• Tree Japanese red pine
• Flower Yamayuri (Lilium auratum)
• Bird Japanese bush warbler
Phone number 0285-72-2111
Address 2030 Mashiko, Mashiko-machi, Haga-gun, Tochigi-ken 321-4293
Website

Mashiko (益子町, Mashiko-machi) is a town located in , , in the northern Kantō region of Japan. As of May 2015, the town had an estimated population of 23,400 and a population density of 262 persons per km2. Its total area was 89.40 km2. Mashiko is known for its pottery, called mashikoyaki (益子焼).

Mashiko is located in the far southeast corner of .

Mashiko developed as a fortified temple town from the Nara period. During the {[Edo period]}, it was an exclave of Kurohane Domain from . After the Meiji restoration, Mashiko, Nanai and Tano villages were created within Haga District on April 1, 1889 with the creation of the municipalities system. Mashiko was elevated to town status on March 1, 1895. Mashiko annexed Nanai and Tano villages on June 1, 1954.

The economy of Mashiko is heavily dependent on tourism from its ceramics crafts industry. The town is also a bedroom community for neighboring Mooka and Utsunomiya.

Mashiko has four primary schools, three middle schools and two high schools. There are also 6 nurseries (Yawaragi, Nanai, Aoba, Midori, Mashiko and Tano) and 2 kindergartens (Nanai and Takara).

Mashiko is known for its pottery, called mashikoyaki (益子焼). Early pottery in Mashiko dates back to the Jōmon and Yayoi periods. Mashikoyaki is often thought of as a simple and rustic in style, brown with maybe a little red glaze, but modern pottery made in Mashiko today is found in many styles, because of the creative freedom brought to Mashiko by Shoji Hamada. Modern Mashikoyaki dates only to 1853, when a potter discovered that local clay here was ideal for ceramics. The style was popularized in 1930 when Hamada, later designated as a Living National Treasure, set up a kiln in Mashiko. Hamada′s student, Tatsuzō Shimaoka, was also designated as a Living National Treasure and worked in Mashiko from 1953 until his death in 2007.


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