Miyagawa Kozan (real name Toranosuke) was born in Makuzugahara, Kyoto in 1842. He learned the family business of Raku ware and colored pottery, and succeeded to the family at a young age after the death of his father and brother in 1860.

In 1870, he moved from Kyoto to his new home in Yokohama, where he began to search for pottery clay, develop improved glazes, and research firing methods. He also believed that “Satsuma ware exported with too much gold and silver would be a loss to the nation,” and he created a series of highly original works that were not bound by the Western or Qing styles of the time, establishing a unique Japanese “high curving” style.

He was later honored with numerous national and international expositions and exhibitions, beginning with the Philadelphia World’s Fair in 1876.

Around 1882, he made a new attempt to produce “underglaze color” works. His works, which were painted in beautiful colors on simple and refined vessels, again won brilliant awards in Japan and abroad, and in 1896 he became the second ceramic artist to be appointed a member of the Imperial Household Artists’ Council.

Miyagawa Kozan I not only popularized “MAKUZU-YAKI” pottery throughout the world and won much acclaim, but his works have been designated important cultural properties in Japan, making him one of the most outstanding Japanese ceramic artists of the Meiji period.

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【Awards at Expositions】

1876 Philadelphia World’s Fair

1979 Sydney World Exposition

1880 Meruborun World Exposition

1883 World’s Fair in Amsterdam

1888 World’s Fair in Barcelona

1889 World’s Fair in Paris

1893 Chicago World’s Fair

1900 World’s Fair in Paris

1904 St. Louis World’s Fair

1905 Luge Universal Exposition

     　World Exposition in Poland

【Masterpiece】

✻Brown glazed bowl with crab-applied base（Important Cultural Properties ）

-Tokyo National Museum Collection-

✻Rusted Yellow Glaze Elegant Plum Tree Painting Vase ( Important Cultural Properties ）

-Tokyo National Museum Collection-

✻Vase with dove and cherry blossoms in high relief

-The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo-

✻Vase with iris design in overglaze enamels

-The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo-