Pottery

Walking through stalls of nearly identical terra-cotta shiisa statues in the Tsuboya district, you may think that Okinawa's pottery tradition is a new-fangled tourist gimmick: don't be fooled. Stop into Kiyomasa Toki for a look at 320 years of unbroken tradition. Kiyomasa Toki was begun by a mandate from the old Shuri Emperor to a distant forbear of the kiln's current master, Takashi Kobashikawa, himself a government-designated Master of Traditional Crafts. "The pots shapes change generation to generation with the hands of the individual potters," says Takashi, but the freewheeling geometrics and whimsical fish pattern in a unique red-and-blue glaze were perfected generations ago and are lovingly celebrated in new pieces with every firing. Bearing left out of the Heiwa-dori arcade, go 200 meters until a small incline leads you up to the red-and-black sign. Mugs and tankards are around ¥4,000, cup and saucer sets from around ¥5,000; larger bowls and platters scale from affordable to astronomical. Take home a keepsake and you'll be in good company: during the G8 summit Okinawa hosted in 2008, the dignitaries that dined at Shuri-Jo ate on plates made by Kiyomasa Toki and each received one as a gift from the city. Wrapping and shipping service available.