Koyama Fujio

Koyama Fujio ( Japanese 小山 富 士夫 ; born March 24, 1900 , in Okayama Prefecture ; died October 7, 1975 ) was a Japanese expert on Far Eastern ceramics and himself a potter in the Shōwa period .

life and work

Koyama attended Tokyo Commercial College, the precursor to Hitotsubashi University , but left without a degree. Two years later he joined the atelier of the potter Mashimizu Zōroku ( 真 清水 蔵 六 ; 1861-1936) and began to produce his own pieces. In 1932, however, prompted by Okuda Seiichi ( 奥 田 誠 一 ; 1883–1955), he switched to the "Research Facility for Far Eastern Ceramics" ( 東洋 陶磁 研究所 , Tōyō tōji kenkyūjo ) and participated in the publication of the magazine for ceramics "Tōji", the was dedicated to premodern ceramics. - In April 1941, during an investigation into ancient Chinese kilns, Koyama discovered the place where the Ding-Yao kilns had stood, the famous kilns from the Song era .

In 1947, Koyama became a part-time employee of the Tokyo National Museum . Three years later he took a position in the "Commission for the Preservation of Cultural Property" ( 文化 財 保護 委員会 , Bunkazai hogo iinkai ), where he focused on ceramics. Then he became an employee in the newly established department for "intangible cultural assets" ( 重要 無形 文化 財 , Jūyō mukei bunkazai ), which u. a. awarded the honorary title “ Living National Treasure ”, but left the department in 1961. Two years later, Koyama became director of the Idemitsu Art Museum and worked on its exhibition concept. In the same year 1963 he built a kiln in Kamakura . Finally, in 1972 he went to the pottery town of Toki in Gifu Prefecture and built his Hananoki kiln ( 花 の 木 窯 ) there. He worked there until his death in 1975.

Koyama was also a prolific scribe. His first book dealt with the history of Chinese celadon ceramics under the title Shina seiji shikō ( 志 那 青磁 思考 ), which was published in 1943 by Tōkyō Bunchūdō. A collection of his writings was published posthumously under the title Koyama Fujio shū ( 小山 富 士夫 集 ) in three volumes by the publisher Asahi Shimbun- sha. Koyama has been translated many times, and his books have also appeared in the major European languages.

Publications in Western languages

• Koyama Fujio and Dietrich Seckel : Ceramics of the Orient: China - Japan - Korea - Southeast Asia - Middle East . Wuerzburg 1959.
• Koyama Fujio: Two Thousand Years of Oriental Ceramics . Abrams Books, 1961.
• Koyama Fujio: The Heritage of Japanese Ceramics . Weatherhill, 1973. ISBN 0-8348-1513-3 . (Translation of "Nihon Tōji no Dentō" (1967)).

literature

• Tazawa, Yutaka: Koyama Fujio . In: Biographical Dictionary of Japanese Art. Kodansha International, 1981. ISBN 0-87011-488-3 .

Japanese name: As is common in Japan, the family name comes before the first name in this article . Thus, Koyama is the family name, Fujio the first name.