| Year | Month, Day | Events | |
| 1980 | March | The 21 companies of the Sumitomo Group propose the donation of the Ataka Collection to Osaka City. The city announces the construction of a special museum on the premises of Nakanoshima Park. | |
| April | Basic planning on the construction of the museum initiated（the plan settles in Sep. 1980） | ||
| October | Based on the basic plan, three experienced architectural design firms are requested for submitting a proposal | ||
| November | Start working on preliminary design (completed in Feb. 1981) | ||
| December | Preparation of construction documents commences (structural planning completed in March 1981, final planning completed in May 1981) | ||
| 1981 | February | Consult the above proposal to Osaka City | |
| June | Construction of the building starts | ||
| 1982 | September | Regulations of The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka enacted | |
| November | Construction completed | ||
| November 6th | Opening ceremony of The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka | ||
| November 7th | First day of the opening to the general public; exhibition celebrating the opening of the Museum: "Masterpieces of Oriental Ceramics" | ||
| 1983 | March | Receive the "Good Lighting Award 1982" | |
| 1984 | March 31st | Awarded the BCS (Building Contractions Society) prize | |
| 1985 | April | The Museum Associate membership system launched | |
| September 15th | First issue of the periodical "Associate News" | ||
| 1987 | October | 14th Special Exhibition commemorating the 5th anniversary of the Museum: "Glory of Korean Pottery and Porcelain of the Yi Dynasty" (until Nov. 23) | |
| 1989 | April 1st | Exhibition introducing the newly acquired items since the opening of the Musuem (until May 7) | |
| 1991 | November 23rd | Exhibition "Korean Ceramics from the Ataka Collection" held at The Art Institute of Chicago (until Feb. 3, 1992), which later travels to Asian Art Museum of San Francisco (Mar. 2–Apr. 26) and The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (May. 2–Jul. 12) | |
| 1992 | October 10th | Special Exhibition commemorating the 10th anniversary of the Museum: "An Introduction to Koryo Celadon" (until Nov. 29) | |
| 1995 | January 17th | Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake occurred; since then, the Museum works on anti-earthquake measures, including the introduction of adhesive mounts and earthquake shock absorbers | |
| 1996 | February 2nd | The first donation of 123 pieces of Korean ceramics by Dr. Rhee Byung-Chang | |
| March | The first volunteer guides begin their work | ||
| April | Free admission for elementary and junior high school students starts | ||
| 1997 | July | Construction of the new annex building begins | |
| 1998 | January 10th | Special exhibition commemorating the 15th anniversary of the Museum: "Masterpieces of Yaozhou Ware" (until Feb. 22) | |
| March 25th | The second donation of 109 pieces of Korean ceramics by Dr. Rhee Byung-Chang | ||
| March 30th | The Museum temporarily closes for partial renovation of the main building and construction for connecting the main building with the annex building (until Aug. 31) | ||
| April 7th | Exhibition "Oriental Ceramics from the Ataka Collection" held at Yamaguchi Prefectural Museum of Art (until May 10), which later travels to Aichi Prefectural Ceramic Museum (May. 16–Jun. 21) and Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine Arts (Jun. 28–Jul. 26) | ||
| September 1st | The main building reopens after renovation and construction | ||
| September 30th | The third donation of 131 pieces of Korean and Chinese ceramics by Dr. Rhee Byung-Chang | ||
| 1999 | March 16th | Opening ceremony of the annex building | |
| March 17th | First day of the annex building to be opened to the public; exhibition celebrating the opening of the annex building: "Color of Elegance, Form of Simplicity―The Beauty of Korean Ceramics from the RHEE Byung-Chang Collection―" (until Apr. 18) | ||
| April | Acceptance of applications for scholarship for research on Korean Ceramics begins (continued annually until 2007) | ||
| 2000 | January 25th | Exhibition "Korean Ceramics from The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka" held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (until Jul. 11) | |
| March 1st | The Museum's website on view | ||
| March | The RHEE Byung-Chang Research Gallery of Korean and Chinese Ceramics open to the public(until 2010. Since then, it has been used as a storage space for ceramic works) | ||
| April 1st | Volunteer guides of the second group complete their training courses and begin their work | ||
| June | Permanent exhibition of 33 pieces of Korean ceramics from the Museum's collection begins at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (until Jul. 2002) | ||
| August 3rd | The first donation of 291 pieces of ceramics, mostly made by Hamada Shoji, by Mr. Horio Mikio | ||
| October | First permanent exhibition of 21 pieces of Korean ceramics from the Museum's collection begins at the Museum of Asian Art, Berlin (until Oct. 2004) | ||
| 2001 | March 29th | The second donation of 50 pieces of ceramics, mostly made by Hamada Shoji, by Mr. Horio Mikio | |
| July 5th | The third donation of 43 pieces of Chinese and other ceramics by Mr. Horio Mikio | ||
| August | Installation of seismic isolation platforms as part of the anti-earthquake measures (conducted annually until Mar. 2012) | ||
| 2002 | April 26th | Exhibition "Soul of Simplicity―Ceramics of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea" held at MOA Museum of Art (until Jun. 9), which later travels to Tochigi Prefectural Museum of Fine arts (Jun. 15–Jul. 14) and Yamaguchi Prefectural Hagi Uragami Museum (Sep. 7–Oct. 27) | |
| November 2nd | Exhibition commemorating the 20th anniversary of the Museum: "Soul of Simplicity―Ceramics of the Joseon Dynasty, Korea" (until Dec. 8) | ||
| 2004 | April | Volunteer guides of the third group complete their training courses and begin their work | |
| October | Second permanent exhibition of 21 pieces of Korean ceramics from the Museum's collection begins at the Museum of Asian Art, Berlin (until Dec. 2015) | ||
| 2005 | October | Permanent exhibition of approximately 20 pieces of Korean ceramics from the Museum's collection begins at the Kyushu National Museum under the title: "Cultural Exchange Exhibition: Ocean Ways, Asian Paths" (this exhibition was held four times until Mar. 21, 2011) | |
| October 14th | The forth donation of 32 pieces of ceramics, mostly made by Hamada Shoji by Mr. Horio Mikio | ||
| 2006 | April | Introduction of the designated manager system | |
| 2007 | April 7th | Special Exhibition commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Museum: "The Eyes of Ataka Eiichi, Seeker of True Art—Selected Chinese and Korean Ceramics from the Ataka Collection" (until Sep. 30) | |
| October 1st | The Museum temporarily closes due to removing asbestos from the electricity room (until Mar. 31, 2008) | ||
| October 13th | Special Exhibition commemorating the 25th anniversary of the Museum: "The Eyes of Ataka Eiichi, Seeker of True Art—Selected Chinese and Korean Ceramics from the Ataka Collection" held at the Mitsui Memorial Museum, Tokyo (until Dec. 16), which later travels to Fukuoka Art Museum (Jan. 5, 2008–Feb. 17) and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa (Feb. 29–Mar. 20) | ||
| 2008 | April 1st | Renewal of the Museum Associate membership system | |
| June 3rd | Donation of 1200 pieces of Chinese snuff bottles by Mr. Oki Shoichiro | ||
| September 18th | A new permanent gallery for the Chinese snuff bottles of the Oki Shoichiro Collection opens to the public | ||
| October 19th | The closest subway station "Naniwabashi" station opens as the Nakanoshima Line of the Keihan railways begins service | ||
| 2009 | April 1st | Renewed website of the Museum on view | |
| 2011 | December 26th | Temporary closure due to air-conditioning improvement work and installation of LED lights (until Apr. 6, 2012) | |
| 2012 | January 28th | Exhibition "The Museum of Oriental Ceramics, Osaka Collection, the Eternal Beauty and Luster of Oriental Ceramics" held at Suntory Museum of Art (until Apr. 1) | |
| March 10th | Exhibition "IMARI: Japanese Porcelain of the Edo Period Exported to Europe" held at Gansu Provincal Museum (until May 6, 2012), Beijing Art Museum (May. 18–Aug. 15, 2012), Liaoning Provincial Museum (Aug. 24–Oct. 21, 2012), Daliang Modern Museum (Nov. 1, 2012–Jan. 5, 2013), Xiamen Museum (Jan. 15–Mar. 15, 2013), Inner Mongolia Museum (Mar. 25–May 25, 2013) | ||
| April 7th | Seismic isolation platforms and LED lights installed in every display cases; 30th Anniversary Special Exhibition "From the Collection of the Museum of MEISSEN Art, MEISSEN Manufactory—300 Years of MEISSEN" (until Jul. 22) |
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| August 10th | 30th Anniversary Temporary Exhibition "Blue-and-White Ware of the Joseon Dynasty" (until Oct. 14) | ||
| October 27th | 30th Anniversary Temporary Exhibition "Invaluable Legacy: Tobi-Seiji and Yuteki Tenmoku" (until Dec. 25) | ||
| 2014 | October 1st | Renewed website of the Museum on view |
