Melon Pan has been created in the early 20th century by an Armenian baker Hovhannes  Ghevenian / Ivan Sagoyan (イワン・サゴヤン). Sagoyan was the personal baker of the Romanov’s House in Russia and was known for creating French and Viennese baked goods. After the revolution of 1917, Sagoyan fled to China and settled in Harbin, where he became the baker of the New Harbin Hotel.

Baron Ōkura Kihachirō, a wealthy and influential Japanese figure, traveled to Harbin, China in search of a skilled baker. He offered favorable terms to move to Japan, which the baker accepted and relocated to the Meguro suburb of Tokyo. There, Sagoyan found employment at the Imperial Hotel and also started their own bakery, called «Monsieur Ivan». It was in Japan that Hovhannes Ghevenian Sagoyan created the sweet bun known as melon pan, which is now widely popular in Japan, China and Latin America.

Also Sagoyan known for training multiple generations of Japanese bakers. His most famous student was Fukuda Motoyoshi, the inventor of Japanese hotel bread, also known as milk bread.