- Address: 1-1-26 Nakanoshima, Kita Ward, Osaka, Osaka Prefecture 530-0005, Japan
- Phone: +81 6-6223-0055
- Official website: moco.or.jp
- Opening hours: 9: 30-17: 00
The Oriental Ceramics Museum, located in Osaka , Japan, is a treasury of porcelain collected for two millennia. The building fits seamlessly into the landscape of Nakanoshima Park and blends in with the surrounding greenery. The exposition presents only a small part of the items from China, Korea, Vietnam and Japan . The rest are stored in the storerooms. After spending several hours here, you begin to understand why traders from all over the world go to the East in search of works of art.
Description
The beauty of the exhibits and the thoroughness with which written descriptions are written in English make visiting the museum very exciting and enjoyable.
The museum was opened in 1982 thanks to the Ataka collection. After the collapse of the enterprise, there was a fear that the collection would not survive, and Sumitomo Bank, the chief lender of Ataka, decided to donate to its city of Osaka. In the future, the exhibition was expanded and now has several thousand copies, including:
- The works of art from China during the Han, Sun and Ming dynasties;
- Korean exhibits of the Silla, Goréo and Joseon dynasties;
- Japanese ceramics from the times of Nara to Edo .
Chinese ceramics are in brightly lit rooms with high ceilings to increase their bright color. Korean ceramics - in rooms with low ceilings with dim lighting, creating a softer, chambered impression. In the Japanese room the objects are located low, in the viewing conditions in a room with tatami.
All items are installed on special shock-absorbing platforms in case of an earthquake, and the museum itself is very peculiarly illuminated.
China Porcelain
There are many legends about Chinese porcelain. Its high quality anticipated its time. Once the Chinese Celadon saved the life of Darius. Poison soaked vegetables were served to his table, but a plate of celadon cracked when poison seeped into its porous surface, and Darius survived. The Persians began to travel everywhere to find celadon because of its ability to save life.
Pottery of Korea
Korean ceramics are represented very widely. In the golden days between the 8th and 12th centuries, merchants came to Korea to admire the Celadon ceramics, which was the most advanced in its time. This glaze is very popular and expressive. Korean celadon has its own distinctive features:
- protruding decorative glazed details on clay casing;
- Inlays, which are pieces of colored clay inserted into the body;
- carved structures that require the introduction of multi-colored layers of clay in the main clay of the body of the product.
Modern potters with the available materials and technology are trying to reproduce the technology of Korean celadon.
The exposition attracts the attention of a teapot in the shape of a pumpkin. This thing shows the beauty of nature and abundant harvest in a slightly decorated form. Deprived of bright colors or ornaments, the teapot is beautiful with a jade tint. A thousand years ago, the Persians talked about the celadon, that it shines with jade and clear water.
Buncheong products
Another kind of pottery presented in the museum is Buncheong. Such ceramics are made from the end of the XIV century until today. It is distinguished by bluish-green tones. The pots are covered with glaze, and the drawings are painted with an iron pigment. These are light bowls with almost childlike and slightly un-centered patterns, sometimes reminiscent of cave paintings.
Features of visit
Collections change every few months. Some exhibits are transferred to the storerooms, others are exhibited. Also in the Museum of Oriental ceramics there are exhibitions of art objects brought from other museums from around the world. So, for $ 4.5 you can see several collections from different countries in one place.
On the ground floor there is a tea room, where drinks and light snacks are served from 10:00 to 17:00. There is also a store in which you can buy books, postcards, catalogs of exhibitions, as well as some ceramic reproductions. Photo is allowed only in one specified location.
How to get to the Museum of Oriental ceramics?
You can take the metro along the Sakaisuji line to Kitahama Station or the Midosuji Line to Yodoyabashi Station and walk 400 meters on foot in an easterly direction.