In 1853, someone discovered a special source of clay in and around Mashiko, a rural village north of Tokyo. In 1924, Shoji Hamada moved there and helped turn Mashiko into an international destination for ceramicists. As a card-carrying ceramics geek of the first order, I made the pilgrimage myself last November. When I was a ceramics student, and for the decade following, Hamada sat firmly ensconced in my pantheon of craft and design gods.