Japanese family of ceramicists. They were active in Kyoto. The first-generation head, Kinkozan Gen’emon, established a kiln at Awataguchi in the Shoho era (1644–8). At first the family produced utilitarian objects, but later they made teabowls for the tea ceremony (chado), particularly of the type known as kyoyaki (‘Kyoto wares’; see KYOTO, §III). The third-generation head, Zen’emon, became master ceramicist to the shogunate in the Edo period (1600–1868). The fourth- and fifth-generation heads (both also called Zen’emon) were skilled producers of wares—such as flower vases, incense burners, display ornaments (okimono), drinking vessels and covered dishes—that imitated Dutch designs and also showed the influence of the work of NONOMURA NINSEI. Later generations produced porcelain, basing their techniques on the manuals of Aoki Mokubei (see AOKI MOKUBEI, §2). A porcelain teabowl accompanied by a box bears a calligraphic inscription of the year 1842. By the time of the Meiji Restoration (1868), Kinkozan wares were being actively exported. Their quality varied from cheap, harshly coloured porcelains, such as akae (‘red design’) wares decorated with pictures of warriors, to exquisitely designed craft objects made of fired porcelain. The best-known member of the lineage, Kinkozan Kobayashi ( fl 1744–60), who assumed the artist’s name (go) Kinkozan in 1756, produced high-quality iroe (polychrome overglaze enamels) at the Awataguchi kiln, before becoming an independent potter specializing in elaborate overglaze enamels. His workshop was called the Kagiya (Key House). His works became known outside Japan when they began to be exported in 1872.