National Treasures & Important Cultural Properties
of National Institutes for Cultural Heritage, Japan

Miyagawa Kozan (founder, 1842 – 1916) was born in a Kyoyaki potter family and moved to Yokohama to produce Satsuma-style ceramics for export in the Meiji period, where he opened the Makuzu kiln in 1871. Although it was popular at the time to decorate ceramics with paintings using color glazes and gold leaf, Kozan went further and adopted different decoration techniques, such as pasting and relief, as exemplified in this bowl with a base. His pottery items became popular at international exhibitions.
Not only the attachment of a realistic crab, but also the shaping of base legs and the warped jar and the expression via double glaze over them all contribute to the creation of this powerful artwork that has exceeded the artistic standards of that time. In the late Meiji period, he also studied the techniques of chinaware of the Qing period and those of art nouveau to break fresh ground in his pottery. This bowl represents one of his early works.