The 38th Spring Jomon Open-Fire Pottery Festival (held on April 28, 2024)～A day of firing pottery with “the power of the sun, wind, and fire in the earth’s open kiln (noro)”

Following the Jomon clay bell and clay mask-making workshop at the Jomon Salon hosted by Jomon artist Hyodo Momoka, I joined the open-air firing at the Ifurai Museum on April 28, 2024.

This article introduces the Jomon open-air firing festival, which is not merely a fun celebration but a solemn ritual where you can witness the Jomon open-air firing technique revived by Ifurai, the teacher of Hyodo Momoka.

What is the Jomon Open-Air Firing Festival?

The Jomon Open-Air Firing Festival is held twice a year, in spring (around April) and autumn (around October). It takes place in the plaza in front of the Ifurai Museum, in a nature-rich mountainous area of Niimi City, where works created by many Jomon artists are fired.

The museum is marking its 19th year since opening, and this is the 38th festival. After various stages, many works are fired over approximately eight hours (7 a.m. to 3 p.m.).

Jomon Open-Air Firing Festival Schedule (Tentative)

The tentative schedule for the Jomon Open-Air Firing Festival is as follows.

The firing time for Jomon pottery and other works may vary slightly depending on the weather and other factors. Rain and the resulting dampness of the ground and pottery, as well as the sun and wind on the day, affect the heat of the open-air fire, so the firing time may change.

At the entrance to the Ifurai Museum, two large pairs of dogu figurines greet visitors. The schedule for the festival is written on the blackboard to the left of the entrance. If you would like to join from the lighting of the fire, please come from 7 a.m.

A Day at the Jomon Open-Air Firing Festival

Here is an introduction to the day’s events.

Lighting the Fire

At 7 a.m., the festival begins with lighting a fire, led by Ifurai and eight staff members. A wooden stick is held vertically in a notch in a wooden board and rotated with both hands. The friction generates heat and creates an ember.

Next comes lighting the fire in the noro (open-air firing site).
In Jomon open-air firing, the noro is considered a sacred place. This time, only Ifurai, the staff, and participants who registered in advance are allowed to enter.

After the fire is lit, the pottery is arranged around the noro and the “preliminary firing” begins, heating it at a low temperature.
Even when pottery is thoroughly dried, moisture can remain inside. If it is fired at high heat while moisture remains, the pottery can explode from steam, damaging other pieces placed nearby.

For this reason, it is essential to warm the pottery slowly over a distant, low-heat fire.

This is an important stage in which each piece is carefully rotated by hand and dried, while its warmth is felt with bare hands.
At this point, most of the pottery is still whitish. Hyodo Momoka explained that they look at the color of the pottery to judge how thoroughly it has been fired and the approximate heat of the fire, then decide when to move on to the next stage.

Kamuinomi (Prayer)

After the staff meeting, they move on to the Kamuinomi prayer ritual. Ifurai learned directly about “kamui” (god) and “nomi” (to pray to) as practiced by the Ainu of Hokkaido, and adapted them into the Kamuinomi of Jomon open-air firing.

Dozens of staff members working on the firing enter the noro and offer prayers facing east, where the sun rises.

At the Jomon Open-Air Firing Festival,

“The noro, a sacred place, is, so to speak, the womb of the earth’s flames. Pottery and dogu figurines, gifts of the soul, receive new souls when fired in an open-air kiln with the help of the sun, wind, and fire. Jomon open-air firing is, so to speak, a ritual that serves as midwifery.”

Ifurai explains the open-air firing in these easy-to-understand terms.

Alongside works by many artists, clay bells and other pieces made by the writer and companions are also being fired.

Open-air firing is one of the techniques that is gradually being lost. While more than half of works fired around the world are said to crack, Ifurai has revived a method of open-air firing with almost no failures. Artists and scholars from overseas sometimes come to observe it.

At the firing festival, the utmost care is taken to prevent injuries and burns during the firing, as well as heatstroke. I was struck by Ifurai’s words: “Jomon open-air firing is not a spectacle; we are doing this at the risk of our lives.”

After the preliminary firing, the center of the noro is leveled into a square, and all the works are rearranged there. By this point, the pottery, which was whitish when firing began, has visibly turned beige.

Once the pottery has been arranged, beams and scrap wood collected from demolished buildings and elsewhere are stacked in a hexagon around it, to about knee height. The fire is then intensified to fire the pottery.

After firing for more than an hour, the pottery, which had been beige, began to turn black.

Lunch

It is now time for lunch. A sales booth run by members of the local Hoso-yaki pottery enthusiasts’ group is set up beside the museum entrance. They sell Hoso special curry, Daisen okowa, bara-zushi, various drinks, and more.

Intensive firing

In the afternoon, wood is stacked to about waist height and the firing is intensified. The wood around the pottery has also burned and collapsed, but the earthenware visible in the center has been fired safely without being affected. The temperature at this point is said to be about 500 degrees. At last, the final stage, intensive firing, begins.

The staff keep feeding in thin pieces of wood that catch fire easily.
The heat felt on your skin at this point is extraordinary, and even approaching with wood to feed the fire is extremely dangerous. The final temperature reaches 600 degrees, firing the pottery in one intense burst.

Whenever I look at this photo, I remember the heat I felt throughout my body and the fear I felt in the presence of the fire.

This is the climax of the intensive firing. I understand what Fura-san meant when he said, “This isn’t a spectacle. We’re doing this at the risk of our lives.”

The firing is complete

Once the flames of the intensive firing die down, the firing is complete. You can gradually see the earthenware and other pieces that have been fired.

Since there is still wood left unburned around the pottery, it is carefully removed so as not to damage the pieces.

The earthenware and other pieces, fired to a red color, come into view. At this Jomon open-air firing, too, not a single piece of earthenware cracked during firing. The beautiful red color is even more striking than I had imagined.

The fired earthenware and other pieces are carefully arranged in front of Fura-san, who checks how well they have fired.

In front of the fired earthenware and other pieces, Fura-san and the staff lead everyone in a thankful Kamuinomi (prayer).

Finally, as is customary, all the staff and participants formed a circle and performed the Jomon Earth Spirit Dance. Of course, I joined in too.

Hyodo also took part as a Jomon drum player.

From the Writer

This festival, a ritual-like event, has continued for 19 years. I encourage you to experience firsthand the Jomon open-air firing festival, which revived the practice of handling a large fire amid constant danger while firing pottery without a single piece cracking.

You can enjoy the festival even more if you first take part in the regularly held Jomon clay bell and clay mask-making workshop run by Hyodo Momoka and make your own piece.

Check Hyodo’s Instagram and other sources for information on how to apply.

Additional information: Parking

Parking information is posted at the entrance to the Fura Museum, the venue. However, it can be a little difficult to understand for first-time visitors.
So, as additional information, here is an introduction to the parking arrangements on the day.

Three parking areas are available near the venue.

The cowshed in the photo is a landmark. Enter from the sloping road in front, and the first parking area is to the left of the cowshed.

The second parking lot is located beyond the rice fields. Enter from the road on the left.

The third parking lot is at the local community hall at the far end. It is the only parking lot with an asphalt surface.

38th Spring Jomon Open-Firing Festival Information

Name	38th Spring Jomon Open-Firing Festival
Held	Twice a year, in spring (around April) and autumn (around October) To apply, contact Hyodo via Instagram DM or at kamomo821@gmail.com ※For details, check Hyodo’s Instagram and other sources.
Location	Inpurai Museum plaza (609 Hoso, Niimi City, Okayama Prefecture)
Website	Hyodo’s Instagram

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