Strategies Espoused by Mino Ceramic Production Area Manufacturers in Response to Declining Demand for Ceramics

Abstract

The Japanese ceramics industry has been experiencing a downward trend in production value since the 1990s, primarily due to shrinking demand in the domestic market, influenced by evolving lifestyles and other factors. This paper delves into the distinctive approaches espoused by ceramic makers in response to the decline in demand for ceramics in the Mino ceramicware production area in Gifu prefecture, the largest ceramic production zone in Japan. The scale of management of potteries in the Mino production area during the period of increased demand after WWII is reflected in the firing facilities. The variations in the responses to declining demand for ceramics are considered based on differences in firing facilities, which in turn reflect disparities in the scale of management practices. During the period of declining demand, it became difficult for large-scale potteries to achieve economies of scale by introducing tunnel kilns, and many of them had to close their businesses. Small- and medium-scale potteries who opted for shuttle kilns were able to flexibly reshape their production systems. Thus, although some changes and closures did occur, the proportion of such events in the production area increased relatively slowly. In the Mino ceramicware production area, the impact of declining demand varied depending on the scale of production and management. Tunnel kiln potteries have achieved high-mix, high-volume production with improved production efficiency through mechanization and the introduction of IT, thereby maintaining their economies of scale. Shuttle kiln potteries have enhanced their competitiveness by catering to a wide range of market demands through the development of high value-added products and high-mix, low-volume production as well as by effectively utilizing their own equipment and technology. Some of the shuttle kiln potteries have also invested in specialty equipment to improve competitiveness and respond to the burgeoning tourism industry. Their response strategies have proved to be more diverse than those of the tunnel kiln potteries. Thus, Mino ceramicware potteries have exhibited varying responses to the decline in demand, depending on the type of firing facilities that reflect the scale of their management. Furthermore, each potteries is sustaining its business by responding flexibly according to the scale of its management.