Ohi Museum and Ohi Gallery 大樋美術館・大樋ギャラリー

Official explanation

The Ohi Museum and Ohi Gallery are dedicated to the Ohi family’s specific style of uneven, rugged tea ceremony ware and its more than 350-year history. Each Ohi tea bowl is made with handcrafted tools and without a wheel, then fired individually in the same small kiln used by the style’s founder, Ohi Chozaemon I (1631–1712).

The family’s characteristically austere tea ware gained high prestige thanks to the ruling Maeda family’s patronage of the tea ceremony and art in Edo-period (1603–1867) Ishikawa. Ohi Chozaemon I came to Kanazawa from Kyoto with tea master Senso Soshitsu (1622–1697) in 1666 by invitation from the Maeda family.

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The museum and gallery were built adjacent to the family’s home, a classic samurai residence surrounding a 500-year-old red pine tree. The museum showcases works and artifacts from all 11 generations of Ohi heirs alongside the family’s collection of art.

The gallery was designed by renowned architect Kengo Kuma in 2014 as an extension of the family home. Works by the living Ohi heirs—Ohi Chozaemon X (Toyasai), Ohi Chozaemon XI (Toshio), and his son, Yuki Nara—are on sale here. In the gallery’s tearoom, visitors can enjoy matcha tea in authentic Ohi tea bowls, accompanied by Kanazawa-style sweets.

出典: 地域観光資源の多言語解説文データベース（観光庁） — www.mlit.go.jp/tagengo-db. この英語解説文は観光庁の地域観光資源の多言語解説整備支援事業で作成しました。
Source: Japan Tourism Agency, Multilingual Explanation Database. This English text was produced by the Japan Tourism Agency's multilingual explanation project and is shown unedited. Opening hours and services may have changed since it was written.