Kutani-yaki is a traditional style of porcelain which is notable for its deep, vivid coloring and highly detailed and elaborate designs of flowers and birds. The Kaburaki Kutani Porcelain Shop & Museum in Kanazawa’s Nagamachi district holds a shop, a café, and a small exhibition area where you can view some fine antique pieces of this colorful local ceramic ware. Even if you aren’t tempted to buy some souvenirs here, it is an interesting place to explore while strolling through this historic area of old Kanazawa.
The Kaburaki Kutani Porcelain Shop & Museum is located in a lovely old wooden house in the historic Nagamachi district
About Kutani-yaki Pottery
Kutani-yaki originated in a village called Kutani in Ishikawa Prefecture in the 17th century and was revived in Kanazawa in the early 19th century by the ruling Maeda family. Several styles developed but they are all marked by intricate designs and a lively use of deep colorings such as red, green, yellow, purple, and blue. Some people say that the vivacious coloring of kutani pottery is a direct response to the long winters and often overcast skies in Kanazawa!
About the Kaburaki Shop & Museum
The official Kanazawa Kutani Museum is part shop, part gallery, part collection room, and part restaurant and cafe. Visitors should expect a historic Kutani ware shop and small museum/gallery experience rather than a large public museum. In Japanese the shop is called Kutani-yaki Kamamoto Kaburaki Shoho which means The Kutani Pottery Kaburaki Shop. Kaburaki was founded in Bunsei 5 (1822) as Kanazawa’s first Kutani ware merchant. Over the years Kaburaki Kutani products gained a reputation for excellence both at home and abroad. Today the eighth generation of the family, Motoyoshi Kaburaki, continues this family business.
Inside the Kaburaki Kutani Shop & Museum
The Kaburaki Shop and Museum is one of the best places in Kanazawa to get an overview of kutani styles over the last two hundred years. The exhibition room displays antique pieces made in the Kaburaki kiln in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. In the shop you can of course find more modern items that you may want to take home with you as a souvenir of Kanazawa. The restaurant and cafe, Kaburaki Shokudo Samurai District ten / Oishii Ippuku Kaburaki, serves Kanazawa-style food and cafe items on Kutani ware. Above all else this demonstrates that kutani ceramics are not only pieces of art but practical items that are meant to be used and enjoyed on a daily basis. The restaurant and cafe operates from 10.00 to 18.00, with lunch served from 11.30 to 14.30 and evening dining by reservation or consultation.
At the entrance to the Kaburaki Kutani Shop & Museum is an old stone lantern which dates from when the shop first opened
Access
The Kaburaki Shop & Museum is in Kanazawa’s historic Nagamachi district. To get there from Kanazawa Station, take a Left Loop Bus from bus stop #7 at the east exit / Kenrokuen Gate bus terminal, and get off at Korinbo (Atrio-mae). The ride takes about 10 minutes and the fare is 220 yen for adults and 110 yen for children. From Korinbo it is a 5 minute walk to the Kaburaki Shop & Museum.
The shop is located in the heart of Kanazawa’s preserved samurai district and so a visit here can easily be combined with a visit to Nomura Samurai House & Garden and Kanazawa Shinise Memorial Hall.
Open: Shop and Kanazawa Kutani Museum: from 9.00; Kaburaki Shokudo / cafe: 10.00 – 18.00; evening dining by reservation or consultation until 21.00
Admission: Free
Article and original photos by Michael Lambe. All rights reserved. Last updated 03-Jun-2026.
