
is a
town
A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city.
The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...
located in
Nishimatsuura District,
Saga Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...
,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
. , the town had an estimated
population
Population is a set of humans or other organisms in a given region or area. Governments conduct a census to quantify the resident population size within a given jurisdiction. The term is also applied to non-human animals, microorganisms, and pl ...
of 18,634 in 7867 households, and a
population density
Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
of 280 people per km
2.
The total area of the town is . It is known for producing
Arita porcelain, one of the traditional handicrafts of Japan. It also holds the largest ceramic fair in Western Japan, the
Arita Ceramic Fair. This event is held from April 29 to May 5 (
Golden Week) every year and has thousands of stores and stalls lining the six-kilometre long main street.
Geography
Arita is located in the western part of
Saga Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...
, bordering
Nagasaki Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan, mainly located on the island of Kyūshū, although it also includes a number of islands off Kyūshū's northwest coast - including Tsushima and Iki. Nagasaki Prefecture has a population of 1,246,4 ...
from its southwest to western sides. About 70% of the town is forest and mountains.
Neighbouring municipalities
Nagasaki Prefecture
*
Hasami
*
Sasebo
Saga Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Kyushu. Saga Prefecture has a population of roughly 780,000 and has a geographic area of . Saga Prefecture borders Fukuoka Prefecture to the northeast and Nagasaki Prefect ...
*
Imari
*
Takeo
Climate
Arita has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(Köppen ''Cfa'') characterized by warm summers and cool winters with light to no snowfall. The average annual temperature in Arita is 15.9 °C. The average annual rainfall is 1801 mm with September as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 26.6 °C, and lowest in January, at around 5.7 °C.
Demographics
Per Japanese census data, the population of Arita is as shown below.
History
The area of Arita was part of ancient
Hizen Province
was an old provinces of Japan, old province of Japan in the area of the Saga Prefecture, Saga and Nagasaki Prefecture, Nagasaki prefectures. It was sometimes called , with Higo Province. Hizen bordered on the provinces of Chikuzen Province, Ch ...
. During the
Edo Period
The , also known as the , is the period between 1600 or 1603 and 1868 in the history of Japan, when the country was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and some 300 regional ''daimyo'', or feudal lords. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengok ...
, it was mostly part of the holdings of
Saga Domain. Arita was one of the first sites in Japan to produce
porcelain
Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...
,
Arita ware. The discovery of
porcelain stone is attributed to a
Korean potter named
Kanagae Sambe(Yi Sam-pyeong) who discovered a source of kaolin underneath the Izumiyama mountain in Arita, and began firing the nation’s first porcelain.
Following the
Meiji restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored Imperial House of Japan, imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Althoug ...
, the village of Sarayama is renamed and reclassified as the town of Arita. Also, the villages of Shin, Magarikawa and Ōyama were established within
Nishimatsuura District, with the creation of the modern municipalities system on April 1, 1889. On November 13, 1896 the village of Shin was renamed Arita, which was raised to town status on January 1, 1947 and renamed Higashi-Arita and which merged with Arita on April 1, 1954. Magarikawa and Ōyama merge to form the village of
Nishi-Arita on April 1, 1955. Nishi-Arita was raised to town status on April1, 1965 and was merged into Arita on March 1, 2006
Government
Arita has a
mayor-council form of government with a directly elected mayor and a
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature consisting of one house or assembly that legislates and votes as one. Unicameralism has become an increasingly common type of legislature, making up nearly ...
town council of 165 members. Arita contributes one member to the Saga Prefectural Assembly. In terms of national politics, the town is part of the
Saga 2nd district of the
lower house
A lower house is the lower chamber of a bicameral legislature, where the other chamber is the upper house. Although styled as "below" the upper house, in many legislatures worldwide, the lower house has come to wield more power or otherwise e ...
of the
Diet of Japan
, transcription_name = ''Kokkai''
, legislature = 215th Session of the National Diet
, coa_pic = Flag of Japan.svg
, house_type = Bicameral
, houses =
, foundation=29 November 1890(), leader1_type ...
.
Economy
The economy of Arita is overwhelmingly based on the ceramics industry, notably production of
Arita ware, and on tourism.
Education
Arita has four public elementary schools and two public junior high schools by the town government, and one public high school operated by the Fukuoka Prefectural Board of Education. The prefecture also operates a special education school for the handicapped.
Prefectural high schools
*Arita Technical High School
Municipal junior high schools
*Arita Junior High School
*Nishi-Arita Junior High School
Municipal elementary schools
*Arita Chūbu Elementary School
*Arita Elementary School
*Magarikawa Elementary School
*Ōyama Elementary School
Other schools
*Arita College of Ceramics
Transportation

Railways
*
JR Kyushu
The , also referred to as , is one of the seven constituent companies of Japan Railways Group (JR Group). It operates intercity rail services within Kyushu, Japan. It formerly operated the Beetle hydrofoil service across the Tsushima Strait be ...
-
Sasebo Line
** -
*
Matsuura Railway-
Nishi-Kyūshū Line
** - - - - - - -
Highways
*
*
*
Sister cities
Arita is
twinned with:
*
Meissen
Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...
, Germany
Friendship city
*
Jingdezhen
Jingdezhen is a prefecture-level city in eastern Jiangxi province with a total population of 1,669,057 (2018), bordering Anhui to the north. It is known as the "Porcelain Capital" because it has been producing Chinese ceramics for at least 1,0 ...
, China
Local attractions

*Arita Kan (有田館) has an exhibition of modern art porcelain, 400 different cups for coffee or tea and a theatre with computerized puppets made of porcelain.
*"China On The Park" dates back to the end of the last century when the Fukugawa factory was chosen to provide the Imperial household with porcelain. This large and modern style facility contains a factory, galleries, shops and a restaurant.
*The
Kyushu Ceramic Museum houses large exhibits of old and modern style ceramics.
*The
Porcelain Park is a ceramic centered theme park, and is modeled on the Zwinger Palace in Germany. Ceramic ware from the heyday of Arita are on display in the gallery.
*Rokuroza (ろくろ座), located near Kami-Arita Station, is a place where one can learn how to make pottery.
*
Tozan Shrine has a porcelain archway and other items of porcelain which, at other shrines, are usually made of stone. This shrine was and still is particularly revered by Arita's ceramists.
Pottery
*
Imari porcelain
*
Kakiemon
Notable people from Arita
*
Ryuzan Aoki
*
Tsuji Hitachi
*
Imaizumi Imaemon XIII, a Living National Treasure in Japan
*
Manji Inoue, a Living National Treasure in Japan
*
Sakaida Kakiemon XIV, a
Living National Treasure in Japan
*
Kakiemon Sakaeda, The 1st Kakiemon
See also
*
Hakuji
*
Japanese pottery
is one of the oldest Japanese crafts and Japanese art, art forms, dating back to the Neolithic period. Types have included earthenware, pottery, stoneware, porcelain, and Blue and white porcelain, blue-and-white ware. Japan has an exception ...
*
Karatsu ware – Produced in Saga. The most produced pottery in western Japan. Believed to have started in the 16th century. Greatly influenced by Korean potters.
*
Yi Sam Pyong (Yi Sam-p'young; 1579–1655)
References
External links
*
Arita official website
{{Authority control
Towns in Saga Prefecture
Arita, Saga