The International Ceramics Festival Mino, Japan has been held with its aim of the promoting of the local industries and the appealing of Mino ceramic ware to the world through the enhancement of the design consciousness and the devotion to the innovative techniques of the ceramics industry. Tajimi city, Mizunami city, Toki city and Kasahara Town; located in the Tono Region of Gifu Prefecture, are the main producing district of Mino ceramic ware that carries more than 1000 years of history. At the present time, there are more than 3000 companies including bigness and smallness in this "pottery bourg", and the region has become the Japan's number one pottery and porcelain producing district.
However, the fame of Mino was not so high compared with other pottery production areas. The reason for the problem was the lack of publicity of Mino ware and the lack of the product development that was driven by consumers demand. The International Ceramics Festival Mino has been held as a trigger to break this current status of Mino ware.

In December 1983, with the help of the Federation of Japan Pottery Manufacturers' Co-operative Associations and the Japan Pottery wholesale cooperative Unions, a study group began to explore the possibility of hosting an international ceramics competition in Tajimi City. In November 1984, with its aim to hold festival, a survey team was dispatched to Spain and Denmark. The team had meetings with engineers, designers and persons from the ceramic industry, and the team concluded that it was necessary for Mino ceramic industry to know the latest design of the world to survive in a globalizing world. With the expected help of European countries, the survey team proposed of hosting an international design competition in Mino region.

In February 1985, "the International Ceramics Design Competition Preparatory Committee " was established. The committee consisted of Gifu Prefecture, Tajimi City, Mizunami City, Toki City, Kasahara Town, Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Junior Chamber International Japan, and ceramic industry.

In July 1985, the participants were gathered at Tajimi City Hall to hold the founding meeting for the International Ceramics Festival Mino 86' Committee. At the meeting, the project plans, the budget, and officials were determined, and their energetic work was started aiming at the Festival a year later.
Then, the secretariat was formed at Tajimi City Hall in March 1986, and the first "International Ceramics Festival Mino 86" was kicked off in the same year.