a little red glaze, but modern pottery made in Mashiko today is found in many styles, on account 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. Mashiko is a folkware kiln site that is unlike some of the other older kiln sites around Japan. The town is open to newcomers whether or not they are potters or of other professional backgrounds in arts, sciences and education. In Japan, craftsmen are usually born into their profession, but in Mashiko, anyone can become a potter. Following Shoji Hamada, people looking to return to a more traditional Japanese lifestyle settled in the area. Twice a year, coinciding with the Golden Week Holidays in the first week of May, and again for the first week of November, there is a pottery and crafts festival where potters and craftsmen from Mashiko and surrounding areas come to the town and set up stalls. Local attractions Saimyō-ji, Jizo-in, Entsu-ji - Buddhist temples containing several important cultural properties (as designated by the national and prefectural governments). Sister cities St Ives, Cornwall, UK (since 2012, in recognition of the Leach Pottery in St Ives of Bernard Leach and Shoji Hamada) References Baekeland, Frederick. Modern Japanese Ceramics in American Collections. New York: Japan Society, 1993. () External links Official Website Towns in Tochigi Prefecture Mashiko, Tochigi