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Located in the Cultural Center grounds, the Chiayi Municipal Museum is responsible for collecting, researching, exhibiting, and educating on local cultural artifacts. Its permanent exhibitions include the Geology Hall, Fossils Hall, and Chen Cheng-po Memorial Room. Three special exhibition spaces feature rotating displays, alongside a Koji Pottery Workshop and learning classrooms to meet public demand.
Chiayi is the birthplace of Koji pottery—often referred to by the Japanese as "Chiayi Ware"—where most master artisans learned their craft. Locally, it is known as Kao-chih, Kao-chih figurines, or Kao-chih-tsai. Historically used as decorative elements in temple architecture, traditional motifs centered around figures representing fishermen, woodcutters, farmers, and scholars, paired with animals, flora, everyday objects, and scenes from Chinese opera in harmonious, well-balanced compositions.
Koji pottery was traditionally installed on elevated sections of temples, such as wall panels, main ridges, secondary ridges, sloping rooflines, gable pediments, horizontal ledges, wall capitals, and spirit screens. Renowned for its warm yet vibrant glaze hues—reminiscent of lustrous gems and jade—it has gradually evolved from temple decoration to treasured living room collectibles.
Ye Wang, revered as the founding master of Taiwanese Koji pottery, was born in Chiayi in 1826. Learning the craft as an apprentice to Guangdong masters building temples in Taiwan, his innate talent elevated him to the foremost pioneer of the art form. Celebrated for lively figures, intricate carving, and exceptional glazing, his creations earned international acclaim as a "Taiwanese Masterpiece," cementing Taiwan's unique artistic status in Koji pottery.
The development of Taiwanese Koji pottery began with Ye Lin-zhi (Ye Wang) and was later carried forward by Lin Tian-mu, who made monumental contributions to the art form. As both were Chiayi natives, Chiayi City established the first Koji Pottery Art Festival in 1997 to revitalize this cultural heritage and adopt Koji pottery as the city's signature cultural emblem. The Koji Pottery Museum officially opened its doors on May 13, 2000.
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