Koransha Museum and Showroom

Koransha's headquarters in Arita's historic preservation district includes a three-story Western-style building constructed in 1877, originally designed to accommodate former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant and his wife during a world tour. Due to a cholera outbreak, the Grants never arrived, but the rooms became reception halls for VIPs and diplomatic guests. A chandelier purchased at the 1876 Philadelphia Exposition still hangs in the main hall, and a special Arita ware plate protects the ceiling where candles once burned. The second-floor museum displays antique porcelain from the company's late-nineteenth-century heyday, including pieces made for the Japanese Imperial Household.