Sasebo, a City of Earthenware A piece of earthenware, later named the Touryumon, was found in the cave of the Senpukuji temple in Setogoshi, a suburb of Sasebo. This changed the history of the world in a sense. This piece was recorded as the oldest earthenware in history, made over 12,000 years ago in the Neolithic Age, and was designated as an important cultural property. The city of Mikawachi east of Sasebo, has been well known as a pottery center for over 400 years. Pottery making began here when the lord of Hirado, who accompanied Toyotomi Hideyoshi on his invasion of the Korean peninsula, brought back the famous Korean pottery master Koseki and one hundred of his faithful disciples. Later his son, Imamura Sannojo, built a kiln in Mikawachi, where he began making the earthenware. The son of Sannojo, Joen, began making a replica of himself and named it Sarunogotoshi (monkey-faced) because of his resemblance to a monkey and because his name Jyoen means "like a monkey." This ceramic doll mischiefly sticks out its tongue. Jyoen found that the grindstone from Amakusa Island, which was unloaded at Haiki Port, and the quarry stone from Hario Island combined to make good pure white ceramics.