[News Terms] Porcelain Gifted to President Yoon Suk-yeol: 'Sim Sugwan Ga'

'Simsugangwa (沈壽官家)' is a renowned pottery family established by Sim Dang-gil (real name Sim Chan), who was taken from Namwon, Jeonbuk to Japan during the Japanese invasions of Korea in 1598, and his descendants who settled in Miyama (美山), Kagoshima Prefecture, Kyushu, Japan.

Sim Dang-gil introduced the Japanese-style pottery "Satsuma pottery," which carries on the tradition of Korean ceramics, and his descendants have continued the path of potters for generations.

'Simsugwan' is the name of the head of "Satsumayaki (Satsuma pottery)," a synonym for Japanese pottery. To honor the achievements of the 12th-generation Simsugwan, who brought distinction to the family business during the Meiji Restoration, his descendants have followed the custom of using the name Simsugwan instead of their real names for four generations.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who visited Japan for a 2-day, 1-night trip, are entering the luncheon meeting with Korean residents in Japan held at a hotel in Tokyo on the 16th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The 12th-generation Simsugwan created the private kiln Simsugwanyo (沈壽官窯) and gave birth to Satsuma pottery. He won a bronze medal at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, another bronze at the 1900 Paris Exposition, and a gold medal at the 1903 Hanoi Oriental Exposition. He greatly contributed to the global fame of Satsuma pottery. In Japan, he is revered as a potter who produces "Japan's finest porcelain."

The 14th-generation Simsugwan (age 96) developed techniques such as openwork and relief carving, and in 1973, as Japan's representative at the Vienna World's Fair in Austria, he exhibited works including a pair of large vases 180 cm tall, receiving high praise. In 1998, he held an exhibition in Korea titled "Return after 400 Years - Simsugangwa Pottery Blossoming in Japan." He was appointed Honorary Consul General of Kagoshima by the Korean government in 1989 and received the Silver Crown Cultural Medal in 1999. In 1998, he brought embers from Namwon to create pottery using Japanese clay and techniques; this fire still burns continuously at the Miyama Toyukan (美山陶遊館).

The 15th-generation Simsugwan (age 64, real name Osako Kazuteru) attended President Yoon Suk-yeol’s inauguration ceremony last May and presented pottery as a gift to President Yoon and his wife during their first visit to Japan on the 16th, where they met with Korean residents in Japan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.