Chiayi City Koji Pottery Museum

Koji pottery is one of Taiwan’s traditional art-forms and has been used since early days as a decorative feature in temple architecture. Traditionally, its subjects have been various, generally consisting of farmers, fishermen, carpenters and scholars in the center, alongside a variety of natural landscapes, insects or fish. The home of Koji pottery is Chiayi City, and, in the past, the masters of Koji pottery were all trained there. In fact, Koji pottery is even known as “Chiayi Pottery” in Japan. Originally, the high-valued Koji pottery was placed high up in the temple to protect it from thieves, but because of the beauty of its emerald-like brightly-colored gemstones, it gradually developed into a private collection of treasures. This museum, located in Chiayi Cultural Center’s Park is responsible for a collection of Koji-related cultural relics, research and a gallery, as well as offers pottery workshops, so that people can learn the ancient art of pottery for themselves. As well as learning about the origin and development of Koji pottery here, you can also come to know about two people who are very important to the development of Koji pottery: Ye Lin-zhi, who has been called the founder of Koji pottery, and Lin Tian-mu, who’s late contribution to Koji pottery was significant. Of course, both of these men were from Chiayi. As the museum regularly features displays of different styles of pottery, the Chiayi City Koji Pottery Museum is well worth a visit for anyone interested in this beautiful art-form.