President
"From earlier times, our country has enjoyed highly-developed porcelain technology. It is said that the Japanese porcelain is excellent nowadays; the Japanese took our technicians to their country by force during the Imjin Patriotic War and then started to develop their porcelain technology."
During the Imjin Patriotic War, the Japanese aggressors took away Korean technicians to Japan by force and started developing ceramic manufacturing technology. It is clearly seen from the ceramic ware produced by the Korean technicians taken away to Japan.
Some typical ceramics made by the Korean technicians taken by force to Japan are introduced as follows:
① Aritayaki
This porcelain was made by the Korean named Ri Cham Phyong. Ri Cham Phyong was forcibly taken to Japan's Arita area of Hizen (Saga prefectural area at present) in 1598. He was the first to find china clay in Japan which could be made into white porcelain and succeeded in baking white Arita porcelain in 1616. Thus, the Arita area of Japan became the centre of ceramic production in Japan.
② Aganoyaki and Yadaiyaki
These porcelains were made by Jon Kye. After being abducted to Japan by Kato Kiyomasa during the Imjin Patriotic War, Jon Kye was handed over to Hosogawa Tadaoki in 1602 and began baking new china in Agano village, Tagawa County. He made Aganoyaki in the village for about 30 years, and then moved to Takada village, Yadai County, where he made Yadaiyaki (Takadayaki) again to rise to fame.
③Hagiyaki
Hagiyaki was made by Korean potters Ri Jak Gwang and Ri Kyong in the area centring around Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan. After being taken away to Japan by Moori in 1598, Ri Jak Gwang made pottery in Hiroshima and Ri Kyong in Hagi. Ri Kyong and other Koreans found raw materials for pottery in Hagi and made Hagiyaki and other ceramics according to the method used in their home country. Their pottery was in great demand for good quality.
④ Takatoriyaki
This porcelain was made by the Korean named Phal San. He was abducted to Japan by Kuroda Nagamasa, a commander of the Japanese aggression forces, and made pottery in Mt Takatori. Phal San made porcelain with other kidnapees, which was the beginning of Takatoriyaki.
⑤Satsumayaki
This porcelain was made by Kim Hae, Pak Phyong Ui and other Koreans. Kim Hae and Pak Phyong Ui were abducted to Japan by Shimazu Yoshihiro and made ceramics in Kagoshima Prefecture of Kyushu. Kim Hae made tea sets in the Osumi area for the first time and Pak Phyong Ui and other Koreans set up pottery kilns in the Nawashirogawa area and began to bake pottery. Satsumayaki which was started by Kim Hae, Pak Phyong Ui and others became the greatest masterpiece of Japanese pottery.
⑥Hiratoyaki
This porcelain was made by Ko Kwan, Tun Yuk and other Koreans. In 1598, Tun Yuk, Kim Ku Yong and Ko Kwan were abducted to Japan by Matsura Shigenobu, a commander of Japanese aggression forces, and made pottery in Nagano village in the west of Hirato, Saga Prefecture, which marked the beginning of Hiratoyaki. The ceramics made by Tun Yuk and others were called the northern line of Hiratoyaki and those by Kim Ku Yong, Ko Kwan and others the southern line of Hiratoyaki. Ko Kwan and other Korean ceramicists succeeded in white porcelain baking in Magawauchi in 1622. At present, there is a monument to Sasebo Review built in memory of the pioneering of Magawauchiyaki by Ko Kwan and other Korean ceramicists in Sasebo of Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan.
⑦Karatsuyaki
This porcelain was made by Korean ceramicists including Pom Ku. Pom Ku was forcibly taken to Karatsu in Saga Prefecture of Japan during the Imjin Patriotic War. He and other Korean technicians built pottery kilns in Saga Prefecture and the Matsuura area of Nagasaki Prefecture to produce various types of Karatsuyaki.
⑧Iogawayaki
This porcelain is said to be made by the Koreans Sin Nyom and Kan Nyom.
Sin and Kan were abducted to Japan by Takahashi Mototane, lord of Iogawa in Miyazaki Prefecture, and made Iogawayaki. At present, there are the grave and kiln site of Sin Nyom there.
The aforesaid ceramics are only some of those made by Korean craftsmen in some pottery kilns they built after being taken to Japan. Besides, Korean craftsmen produced lots of new types of ceramics in hundreds of pottery kilns they built after being taken by force to Japan and so you can guess how many ceramics they made there.
Japanese scholars also admit that excellent ceramics began to be produced in real earnest in their country by Koreans who had been abducted during the Imjin Patriotic War in the latter half of the 16th century.
According to The Dictionary of Pottery (Vol. 4) published in Japan, after the Imjin Patriotic War, Aritayaki was created by Ri Cham Phyong (Korean ceramicist) and Aganoyaki was started by Jon Kye, Takatoriyaki by Phal San, Satsumayaki by Kim Hae and Pak Phyong Ui and Hagiyaki by Ri Kyong. The dictionary says: "Like this, we cannot but describe it as a great revolution in our pottery circles that all the ceramics in western Japan began to be made by Korean craftsmen."
All facts clearly show that new ceramics started to be made and developed in Japan by Korean craftsmen who were forcibly taken away to Japan during the Imjin Patriotic War.
