JAL Guide to Japan - NAGOYA ( City Information )

	City Information

		Uiro

Uiro, Japanese sweets, famous for their mild sweetness and elastic like texture are a popular souvenir for those who visit Nagoya. Uiro nowadays goes very well with Japanese green tea although the uiro of old was originally the name of a medicine. As the years passed various additives since used to remove any bitter aftertaste of medicine have also adopted the name of "Uiro."

		Ebisenbei (Shrimp rice cracker)

The shrimp rice cracker is a grilled shrimp paste, highly sought after due to its delightful fragrance and crunchy texture. There are various types of cracker, including one in the shape of a shrimp and it is Aichi Prefecture, by far the nation's largest producer of the popular snack that leads the way on this front.

		Arimatsu Narumi Shibori (Arimatsu shibori tie-dyeing)

The origin of the Arimatsu shibori dates back to 1608, in the very early years of the Edo era, when Takeda Shokuro started his business after studying tie-dyeing techniques in Arimatsu. With a 400-year history and 100 types of technique used, things have come a long way since the early days when the original product was but a tenugui (hand towel).
Various products today include: noren (a short split curtain), hanten (a short coat), furisode (a kimono with long, trailing sleeves), yukata (an informal cotton kimono) and even polo shirts.

		Owari Shippo-yaki (Cloisonne ware)

Cloisonne ware originated in ancient Egypt long before the birth of Christ and it is said to have made its way to Japan via India, China and Korea. Shippo means seven treasures (gold, silver, crystal, lapis lazuli, coral, agate and pearl) and was written about in the Buddhist scriptures.
Shippo-yaki therefore, was named after these seven treasures due to its noble, gorgeous and of course beautiful nature.

		Tokoname-yaki (Tokoname ware)

Kilns were established all over the hillside in the Chita Peninsula around the end of the Heian era (the 12th century) and Tokoname was the center of the then dawning industry of firing pots.
Pottery including yamachawan (bowls), yamazara (plates) and general use pots were fired in those early days and are still known as "ko Tokoname" (old Tokoname ware).
There were six major pottery centers in Japan at one time, in Seto, Shigaraki, Tanba, Bizen, Echizen and Tokoname and during the Japanese middle ages Tokoname was the largest of the six.

		Seto Sometsuke-yaki

Seto has long been one of the leading centers for ceramics in Japan. While Seto-yaki (Seto ware) has been sold all over Japan since the Edo period, Seto Sometsuke-yaki, another form of ceramic has also been developed in the Seto area. For the most part blue-and-white in color, Seto Sometsuke-yaki features paintings of landscape scenes, birds and flowers.

To page top