Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview

This study offers a historical overview of Japanese ceramics within the collection of the National Museum of Malaysia, highlighting their unique cultural and historical significance in contrast to the more extensively studied Chinese ceramics. Drawing upon archival research, interviews with muse...

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Main Authors: Gregory Kiyai @ Keai, Syafiq Faliq Alfian
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2025
Online Access:http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25999/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25999/1/Arkeologi_38_2_2.pdf
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author Gregory Kiyai @ Keai,
Syafiq Faliq Alfian,
author_facet Gregory Kiyai @ Keai,
Syafiq Faliq Alfian,
author_sort Gregory Kiyai @ Keai,
building UKM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description This study offers a historical overview of Japanese ceramics within the collection of the National Museum of Malaysia, highlighting their unique cultural and historical significance in contrast to the more extensively studied Chinese ceramics. Drawing upon archival research, interviews with museum curators, and existing literature, the research reveals that Japanese ceramics in Malaysia are relatively rare and often linked to colonial-era acquisitions rather than direct historical trade between Japan and the Malay Peninsula. The study contextualizes the presence of these ceramics within the broader framework of maritime trade networks in East and Southeast Asia, particularly during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, when political shifts such as the Ming Dynasty’s trade bans enabled Japan’s emergence as a key ceramic exporter. Furthermore, the research discusses how colonial collecting practices and knowledge production influenced the acquisition and interpretation of Japanese ceramics in Malaysian museums. This overview contributes to filling the scholarly gap on Japanese ceramics in Malaysia and invites further study into their historical trajectories and cultural meanings within Southeast Asian contexts.
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spelling oai:generic.eprints.org:259992025-10-14T02:12:23Z http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25999/ Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview Gregory Kiyai @ Keai, Syafiq Faliq Alfian, This study offers a historical overview of Japanese ceramics within the collection of the National Museum of Malaysia, highlighting their unique cultural and historical significance in contrast to the more extensively studied Chinese ceramics. Drawing upon archival research, interviews with museum curators, and existing literature, the research reveals that Japanese ceramics in Malaysia are relatively rare and often linked to colonial-era acquisitions rather than direct historical trade between Japan and the Malay Peninsula. The study contextualizes the presence of these ceramics within the broader framework of maritime trade networks in East and Southeast Asia, particularly during the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries, when political shifts such as the Ming Dynasty’s trade bans enabled Japan’s emergence as a key ceramic exporter. Furthermore, the research discusses how colonial collecting practices and knowledge production influenced the acquisition and interpretation of Japanese ceramics in Malaysian museums. This overview contributes to filling the scholarly gap on Japanese ceramics in Malaysia and invites further study into their historical trajectories and cultural meanings within Southeast Asian contexts. Penerbit Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia 2025 Article PeerReviewed application/pdf en http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25999/1/Arkeologi_38_2_2.pdf Gregory Kiyai @ Keai, and Syafiq Faliq Alfian, (2025) Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview. Jurnal Arkeologi Malaysia, 38 (2). pp. 13-29. ISSN 0128-0732 https://arkeologimalaysia.org.my/jurnalarkeologi/index.php/jurnalarkeologi/issue/view/49
spellingShingle Gregory Kiyai @ Keai,
Syafiq Faliq Alfian,
Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview
title Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview
title_full Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview
title_fullStr Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview
title_full_unstemmed Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview
title_short Japanese ceramics in the national museum of Malaysia: a historical overview
title_sort japanese ceramics in the national museum of malaysia: a historical overview
url http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25999/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25999/
http://journalarticle.ukm.my/25999/1/Arkeologi_38_2_2.pdf