Hoget Stone Pot Production Site: Quarry Walls of Medieval Stone Cookware
The Hoget Stone Pot Production Site (ホゲット石鍋製作遺跡) is a site in the hills of Oseto-cho, Saikai City, Nagasaki Prefecture, where soapstone cooking pots were made from the late Heian period into the Middle Ages, designated a national Historic Site in 1981.
Stone pots were cooking vessels widely used in western Japan in the Kamakura period. According to the Agency for Cultural Affairs, there are dozens of soapstone pot production sites in the hills of the Nishisonogi Peninsula in Nagasaki, and the Hoget Stone Pot Production Site is the largest. Nagasaki Prefecture gives its location as Donkuiwa, Setohadegawa-go, Oseto-cho, and the owner as Saikai City.
Why It Was Designated
Nagasaki Prefecture says 11 workshops are concentrated at the site. At Workshop No. 6 alone, a rock face 6 metres high and 60 metres long is covered with the scars left by cutting out blanks.
Makers first marked the soapstone face into a grid of 30 to 40 centimetres, carved each block into an abacus-bead shape, then detached it and shaped it. The Agency says work here went as far as shaping the bead form and hollowing the inside before the pieces were carried away.
Almost nothing about stone pots survives in written records, and the Agency values the Hoget Stone Pot Production Site for what it reveals about medieval daily life and trade.
What to Look For
The highlight is the rock face of Workshop No. 6, where cut marks run 6 metres high and 60 metres along; the Agency calls the sight magnificent. Trace the grid marks and bead-shaped cuts to follow the sequence of work.
Soapstone fragments also lie in the streams nearby. Imagine the blanks cut from the cliffs travelling down the valleys by river.
Visiting the Hoget Stone Pot Production Site
Saikai City says the site is open to visit freely. It lies in the hills, reached by a mountain path from the trailhead, so wear sturdy shoes.
Enquiries go to the Saikai City Board of Education social education section on 0959-37-0079.
Q&A
- What is the Hoget Stone Pot Production Site?
- A site in the hills of Saikai, Nagasaki, where soapstone cooking pots were made from the late Heian period into the Middle Ages, designated a national Historic Site in 1981.
- How large is the Hoget Stone Pot Production Site?
- It has 11 workshops; at Workshop No. 6 alone, cut marks cover a rock face 6 metres high and 60 metres long.
- How were the stone pots made?
- The soapstone face was marked into a grid of 30 to 40 centimetres, each block carved into an abacus-bead shape, detached and then shaped.
- Can I visit the Hoget Stone Pot Production Site?
- Yes, Saikai City says it is open freely; it is reached by a mountain path.
- Why is the site important?
- Stone pots are barely mentioned in written records, so the site is valuable evidence of medieval life and trade.
Basic Information
| Name | Hoget Stone Pot Production Site (ホゲット石鍋製作遺跡) |
|---|---|
| Location | Setohadegawa-go, Oseto-cho, Saikai City, Nagasaki Prefecture |
| Designation | Historic Site |
| Year Designated | Designated 1981/9/8 (Showa 56) |
| Quantity | 1 site |
| Dimensions | 11 workshops; the Workshop No. 6 rock face is 6 metres high and 60 metres long |
| Owner | Saikai City |
| Public Access | Open freely (in the hills) |
References
- Agency for Cultural Affairs Database: Hoget Stone Pot Production Site (Japanese)
- https://kunishitei.bunka.go.jp/bsys/maindetails/401/2781
- Cultural Heritage Online: Hoget Stone Pot Production Site (Japanese)
- https://online.bunka.go.jp/heritages/detail/192072
- Nagasaki Prefecture Cultural Properties Database (Japanese)
- https://www.pref.nagasaki.jp/bunkadb/index.php/view/19
- Saikai City: Hoget Stone Pot Production Site (Japanese)
- https://www.city.saikai.nagasaki.jp/kanko/theme/spot/1/4939.html
Last verified: 2026.09.27