1753-1811
male
kyo pottery
Maruya Moemon was born to a family that had run a pawn shop in Kyoto for generations. He ran the family business until he was 35, when he left it to his son in order to pursue his passion for pottery. He built a kiln on the grounds of Kennin-ji temple, and began making unique ceramics. From 1781-1789 he succeeded in creating the first pieces of Kyo ware.
He along with his understudy, Aoki Mokubei, and second generation of understudies, Takahashi Dohachi and Ogata Shuhei, are considered the fathers of Kyo ware ceramics.
His most famous products were Gosuakae, but other than that Sometsuke, and Koji ware are among his eminent works. He made a wide variety of ceramics including dishes and various ceramics for use in daily life, as well as tea utensils, teapots, and other sencha tools.
Furthermore, seals of engraved signatures such as “Eisen” and “Riku Katayama” from this time period still exist, but there are currently no existing ceramics with Maruya Moemon’s seal. Because of this, he is thought to have not used a seal.
