This is an Unkaku celadon sake cup believed to be a posthumous work by Miyagawa Kozan I, the potter who founded Makuzu ware in Yokohama during the Meiji and Taisho eras. The mark of the Makuzu kiln is impressed inside the foot ring. The accompanying box bears an inscription by Miyagawa Kozan II, successor to the first generation, reading “Kozan isaku” (a posthumous work of Kozan). Measuring approximately 3.0 cm in height and 6.1 cm in rim diameter, this petite cup is offered as a Japanese-style shot glass for savoring vintage spirits one sip at a time.
Miyagawa Kozan I was born in 1842 into a family of potters in Makuzugahara, Kyoto, and succeeded as head of the family in 1860. He moved to Yokohama in 1870 and founded the Makuzu kiln in Ota Village, Yokohama, the following year. Through takaukibori, a high-relief technique in which realistic sculptural decoration is built up on the surface of the vessel, he won wide acclaim at expositions in Japan and abroad, beginning with the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exposition. His work came to be known overseas as “Makuzu Ware.”
From around the mid-Meiji 10s (the early 1880s), he devoted himself to the study of glazes and underglaze decoration. Adopting techniques modeled on classical Chinese ceramics, he gradually shifted the main focus of his production from pottery to porcelain. He was awarded gold medals at the 1889 Exposition Universelle in Paris and the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and in 1896 he was appointed an Imperial Household Artist (Teishitsu Gigei-in), only the second ceramic artist to receive this honor. He continued to produce celadon until his final years, and a celadon vase he made in 1912 is in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, donated by Kozan I himself.
Unkaku, meaning “clouds and cranes,” is the name used in Japanese tea culture for inlaid celadon from the late Goryeo to the early Joseon period. It is characterized by motifs such as clouds and cranes rendered in white and black on a celadon ground. Among the Korean tea bowls (Korai chawan) handed down in Japan, it has long been treasured as one of the few types dating back to the Goryeo period.
The exterior of the cup is divided into upper and lower registers by stepped carving. The upper register is decorated at regular intervals with small flowers, each with a yellow center encircled by fine white petals, paired with leaves ranging from deep indigo to black. Around the lower register runs a white swirling line pattern evoking clouds, among which appear white motifs resembling birds with outstretched wings. Read together with the title “Unkaku seiji” (Unkaku celadon) on the box, these motifs may be understood as clouds and cranes. The arrangement of white and black motifs beneath the celadon glaze faithfully conveys the character of the unkaku style. At the center of the interior well, a white circular line encloses a white motif resembling a written character. Fine crackle characteristic of celadon glaze appears both inside and out. The base of the foot ring is unglazed, revealing the reddish-brown clay body, while the recess within the foot ring is covered in a lustrous brown glaze. At its center is an oval kiln mark with the two characters “Makuzu” impressed in relief.
The attribution of this piece to Miyagawa Kozan I rests on the following two points.
The first is the accompanying shikibako, a box bearing an inscription by a later hand attesting to the work. The outside of the lid is titled “Shuhai” (sake cup), and the inside of the lid bears the title “Unkaku seiji” and “Hai” (cup), the words “Kozan isaku” (a posthumous work of Kozan), and the signature “Nidai Makuzu Kozan” (Makuzu Kozan II) with a red seal. Miyagawa Kozan II (given name Hannosuke, 1859–1940) was born the son of Miyagawa Chohei and was adopted by his uncle, Kozan I. He worked in the family enterprise under Kozan I for many years and, before succeeding to the name, also produced work under the name “Miyagawa Hanzan.” After Kozan I died in 1916, he succeeded to the name Kozan in 1917. That this successor, who worked at Kozan I’s kiln and witnessed his work firsthand, explicitly identified the piece as a posthumous work of his predecessor rather than as his own is the most direct evidence of its authorship. It is known that at the Makuzu kiln, works made by Kozan I were released after his death as posthumous works by the second and third generations, and the inscription on this box is entirely consistent with that practice.
The second is the kiln mark on the piece itself. The “Makuzu” mark inside the foot ring confirms, from the object itself, that this is a product of the Makuzu kiln. Moreover, celadon belongs to the body of work Kozan I pursued from the later phase of his career, after he turned to glaze research, until his final years, so the piece is consistent with his production in terms of style as well.
At the same time, certain points stop short of a definitive attribution. First, the mark on the piece identifies the kiln, not the individual artist. Public museum records confirm that the oval “Makuzu” mark was also used on works from the time of Miyagawa Kozan II, and no published source sets out criteria for distinguishing the first-generation mark from that of the second. Second, celadon and interpretations of classical ceramics were also specialties of Miyagawa Kozan II. From the Taisho era onward, he developed a style grounded in the traditions of East Asian ceramics, including Chinese wares and the work of Ninsei and Kenzan, and he also left works in the manner of Goryeo celadon. Style alone therefore cannot distinguish the first generation from the second. Furthermore, the Makuzu kiln operated as a workshop in which skilled artisans carried out each stage of production, including throwing, sculpting, and painting, so the extent of Kozan I’s personal involvement in this piece cannot be determined from the object. Definitive confirmation would require further study, such as detailed comparison with marks on works securely attributed to Kozan I. Having weighed these points, we attribute this piece to Miyagawa Kozan I on the strength of two supporting elements: the “posthumous work” inscription on the box by the successor himself, and the Makuzu kiln mark.
The differences between the first and second generations are evident in both style and official recognition. After achieving international renown for takaukibori, Kozan I substantially transformed his style, turning to underglaze decoration, crystalline glazes, and glazes modeled on Qing dynasty porcelain. Following numerous awards at international expositions and his appointment as an Imperial Household Artist, two of his works, “Large Vase with Plum Tree Design in Rust-Brown on Yellow Glaze” and “Footed Bowl with Applied Crabs in Brown Glaze,” have been designated Important Cultural Properties of Japan (both in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum). Kozan II carried forward the style of the first generation while creating refined works rooted in tea ceremony wares and the traditions of East Asian ceramics. He exhibited at the 12th Imperial Art Exhibition (Teiten) in 1931 and took part in founding the Totokai ceramic society with Itaya Hazan and others in 1927.
Based on the attribution to Kozan I, this piece is considered to date from between the mid-Meiji 10s, when Miyagawa Kozan I shifted his focus to glaze research, and May 1916, when he died. Several celadon works by Kozan I in public collections are dated between 1912 and 1916. As the shikibako bears the signature of Miyagawa Kozan II, the inscription was written after his succession to the name in 1917.
- Artist: Miyagawa Kozan I (初代 宮川香山、1842–1916) *Attribution based on the box inscribed by Miyagawa Kozan II
- Biographical Highlights: [1842] Born into a family of potters in Makuzugahara, Kyoto; [1860] Succeeds as head of the family; [1870] Moves to Yokohama; [1871] Founds the Makuzu kiln in Ota Village, Yokohama; [1876] Exhibits at the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition; [1889] Gold medal, Exposition Universelle, Paris; [1893] Gold medal, World’s Columbian Exposition, Chicago; [1896] Appointed Imperial Household Artist; [1904] Grand Prize, Louisiana Purchase Exposition, St. Louis; [1910] Grand Prix of Honour, Japan-British Exhibition, London; [1916] Dies
- Public Collections: Tokyo National Museum (including two Important Cultural Properties), National Crafts Museum, Yokohama Museum of Art, Ishikawa Prefectural Museum of Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (USA)
- Period: Meiji–Taisho period, c. early 1880s to May 1916, during the lifetime of Miyagawa Kozan I (attributed)
- Condition: Excellent (no chips, no cracks)
- Accompanied by: Shikibako (box inscribed by Miyagawa Kozan II)
- Medium: Ceramic with celadon glaze, decorated in white and black; oval Makuzu kiln mark impressed in relief inside the foot ring
- Dimensions: H. approx. 3.0 cm, rim diameter approx. 6.1 cm
- Notice: All items we offer, even those that are new and unused, were produced a very long time ago and are therefore listed as pre-owned. Items may show signs of age; please understand this and examine the listing carefully before considering a purchase.
