Jinju National Museum

Hizen is the former name of the present-day Saga and Nagasaki prefectures located in northern Kyushu, Japan. Hizen contained Nagoya Castle, which was erected as a military base to dispatch troops to invade Joseon during the Imjin War (Japanese invasion of Korea in 1592), and it was also part of the state of the family of Nabeshima, a Japanese general known to have taken the largest number of artisans from Joseon as prisoners. It was also the place where Japanese ceramics originated and became known to Europeans as a producer of ceramics.

The ceramics culture of Japan underwent remarkable development centering on Hizen after the Imjin War, and the ceramic wares produced in Hizen began to be exported beyond Asia to Europe in the mid-17th century. Hizen ceramics were called Arita ware (named after the town where it was produced) and Imari ware (named after the port of export).

Japanese ceramic culture cannot be explained without talking about the influence of Joseon. In Japan, pottery production began under the influence of Joseon prior the Imjin War, and the first-ever porcelain wares were produced in the 1610s by Joseon artisans who had been forcibly taken to Hizen during the Imjin War.

This is the reason we decided to turn our attention to Hizen wares. Hizen porcelain looks splendid with the use of various colors, but it was actually rooted in Joseon ceramics, characterized by simplicity, and created by Korean ceramists.

Based on this, the Jinju National Museum plans to hold a special exhibition this year. This will be a Korea-Japan cultural exchange exhibition that sheds light on the influence of Joseon ceramics on Japanese ceramic culture and how Japanese ceramics with the colors of Hizen developed based on the techniques applied to Joseon ceramics. Through the exhibition, you will get to get a glimpse into the exchanges that occurred between Joseon and Japan with ceramics as the medium and even see a new aspect of Japanese ceramic culture that you have never known before.