Readjustment Tsuboya YachimunDori as Pottery Center in Naha City Okinawa Japan

Abstract

Naha (那覇市 : Naha-shi, Okinawan: Naafa) is the capital city of Okinawa, the most southern prefecture of Japan. As of December 2012, the city has an estimated population of 321,467 and a population density of 8,244.46 persons per km². The total area is 38.99 km². Naha is a city on the East China Sea coast of the southern part of Okinawa Island, the largest of Okinawa Prefecture. The modern city was officially founded on May 20, 1921. Before that Naha had been for centuries one of the most important and populous sites in Okinawa. Naha is the political, economic and education center of Okinawa Prefecture. In the medieval and early modern periods, it was the commercial center of the Ryūkyū Kingdom. Central Naha consists of the Palette Kumoji shopping mall, the Okinawa Prefecture Office, Naha City Hall, and many banks and corporations, located at the west end of Kokusai-dōri, the city's main street. Kokusai-dōri (国際通り, "International Avenue") boasts a 1.6 kilometer long stretch of stores, restaurants and bars. Kokusai-dōri ends at the main bus terminal in Okinawa and is served by several stations along the Okinawa Monorail, the only train system in the prefecture. Spurring off from Kokusai-dōri is the covered Heiwa-dōri Shopping Arcade and Makishi Public Market, a massive shōtengai filled with fresh fish, meat, and produce stands, restaurants, tourist goods shops, and liquor shops. Just outside the market area is the neighborhood of Tsuboya (壺屋, "pot/jar shop"), which was once a major center of ceramic production. Over the centuries, Okinawa has become quite well-known for its cultural heritage and art. One of Okinawa's most distinct and well-known art forms is pottery, and the center for the pottery movement is Tsuboya. For more than 300 years, Naha's Tsuboya district has been the symbol for Okinawa pottery. It has produced many famous craftsmen who have gained fame and reputation far outside of Okinawa. The pottery made in Tsuboya is known as tsuboya-yaki. Yachimun Dori (Pottery Street) is lined with a number of tsuboya-yaki shops where the finest craftsmen still work and live to this day.