Mashiko is a name that many of you are familiar with, I'm sure. It is the name of a town in Tochigi Prefecture, as well as an internationally recognized pottery style made famous by the late Shoji Hamada. Today hundreds of potters reside there, and many come from around the world to study or pay their respects at Hamada's home, now a museum.
Those potters who can't make the pilgrimage nonetheless have a chance to win the Hamada Shoji Prize, the highest award in the annual Mashiko Ceramics Competition. The juried exhibition can be viewed at the Togei Messe Mashiko Gallery until Dec. 3.
This year marks the third competition and entries were received from 21 countries besides Japan -- 435 from Japan and 72 from overseas; all in all, a total of 689 pieces, of which 101 made it into the exhibition.