Seto, Ceramic manufacturing city in Aichi Prefecture, Japan
Seto sits about 20 kilometers northeast of Nagoya along the river of the same name and is an industrial city with pottery workshops and ceramic factories in hilly surroundings. Production focuses on several districts where kilns, warehouses and showrooms are distributed among residential buildings.
In 1242, the craftsman Toshiro Kato established his first kiln after discovering high-quality clay deposits in the northern hills. Production grew over the centuries and made the city one of the most important ceramic centers in Japan.
The word 'setomono' simply means ceramics in Japanese, because the kilns of this city supplied the country with dishes and vessels for centuries. Visitors encounter this legacy in the workshops, where artisans still work on wheels today and display their finished pieces in the shop windows.
The Meitetsu Seto Line connects Sakae station in central Nagoya with the city in about 38 minutes of travel. Many workshops are scattered across residential districts, so walking through the streets helps discover the different production sites.
The Maneki Neko Museum houses the largest collection of beckoning cat figurines in Japan, with thousands of specimens from different eras and styles. The exhibition shows how the depiction of the lucky cat has changed over time and what regional variants have emerged.
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