The first Miyagawa Kōzan (1842–1916) was a ceramic artist who raised Meiji-period Japanese ceramics to world-class standards. Born in Kyoto, he established the Makusa Kiln in Yokohama in 1871. In his early years, he attracted attention with works featuring high relief carvings, in which animals and plants seemed to rise dramatically from the surface of the vessels, and was highly acclaimed overseas. He subsequently made a significant shift in his artistic style, conducting extensive research into glazes and underglaze decoration, and moved towards a serene and refined style of porcelain. In Meiji 29, he was appointed an Imperial Artisan and became a leading figure in Meiji-period ceramics.

When viewing Kōzan’s works, one is first struck by his spirit of inquiry—which could almost be described as an obsession with technique. His high-relief pieces possess such power that crabs, birds and flowers seem to leap out from the vessels; although they are ceramics, they evoke the sensation of viewing a sculpture. Conversely, his later works possess a calmness that allows the viewer to quietly savour the colour and texture of the glazes; the breadth of his expression is so vast that it is hard to believe they are by the same artist. To me, Miyagawa Kōzan strikes me as an artist who did not confine himself to a single speciality, but rather continually reinvented his ceramic art in response to changing times and aesthetic sensibilities. It is precisely this boldness and spirit of inquiry that, I believe, continue to imbue his works with a fresh appeal to this day.