The beginning of Miyajima’s osuna pottery dates back to the Edo Period (1603 – 1863). During this time, the people of Aki (present-day western Hiroshima) collected the sand from under the Main Shrine at Itsukushima as a good luck charm for safe travels before setting out on their journeys. When they returned, they mixed the original sand with sand from their destination and returned double the amount to the Main Shrine in a tradition known as osuna-gaeshi, or ‘returning the sand’.

During this period, the sand from beneath the Main Shrine was blended into clay and turned into special pottery used in religious festivals at Itsukushima Shrine. This pottery was called shinsha-yaki, or osuna-yaki (osuna pottery). At Yamane Taigendo, we source our sacred sand from under the Main Shrine at Itsukushima. The sacred sand is blessed in a ceremony at the shrine before we knead it into our clay.