Founded in November 1982, the Museum was established by the Osaka City to commemorate the donation of the world-renowned “Ataka Collection” by the twenty-one companies of the Sumitomo Group. In addition to the core “Ataka Collection” that comprises mostly Chinese and Korean ceramics, the Museum collection also includes Japanese ceramics as well as generous donations such as the Korean ceramics of the “Rhee Byung-Chang Collection" and works by Hamada Shoji, boasting as one of the finest collections of East Asian ceramics in the world in terms of both quality and quantity.