Overview of the Kyushu Ceramic Museum
The Kyushu Ceramic Museum was opened in 1980 to preserve and promote the unique pottery culture of Kyushu and Okinawa. It has approximately 30,000 items in its collection, including two Japanese Important Cultural Properties, and it aims to be an internationally recognized facility representing Kyushu’s ceramic culture. The museum collects, conserves, researches, and displays important artistic, industrial, and historical materials.
The museum has a wide range of historic and modern ceramic pieces. It hosts special exhibitions and regularly displays works by members of the Japan Art Academy, as well as by individuals certified as Preservers of Important Intangible Cultural Properties of Japan (“Living National Treasures”).
Exhibit Guide
The museum is divided into five exhibition rooms that together display approximately 1,500 pieces at any one time. For the best experience, visit the exhibit rooms in numerical order:
Exhibit Room 1: History of Arita Ware, including the Kanbara Collection
Exhibit Room 2: Mr. and Mrs. Shibata Collection
Exhibit Room 3: Old Ceramics of Kyushu
Exhibit Room 4: Contemporary Ceramics of Kyushu
Exhibit Room 5: General Exhibition Room
Special pieces are placed throughout the museum grounds, including the karakuri musical clock in the main hall, the Bells of Meissen outside the museum, and the cassowary statue and fountain made of Meissen porcelain in the courtyard.
Arita ware tiles and fixtures can also be seen on walls, floors, and doors at the museum.
