Each piece in this collection has a delicate low-relief design of flowering plum branches over intersecting lines, intended to represent the cracked-ice surface of a frozen body of water. The design is signed in gold pigment on the base. Yohei II created many beautiful underglaze blue pieces, similar to those made by Kiyomizu Shichibei. However, he also produced works in different styles later in his career, starting from around 1873. In that year, he was appointed as a supplier to the Industrial Center of Kyoto Prefecture, which was part of Kyoto's efforts to reach an international market through the port of Kobe. From 1875 until his death, he was involved in national projects to present Japanese ceramics around the world. It's thought that Yohei III was apprenticed to Yohei II during this period, and this set might be an early example of Yohei III's work, which he signed with his teacher's name. The designs on the set resemble Japanese textile patterns, and the flowers bring to mind the design of Yohei II's pair of vases with plum blossoms in the Victoria and Albert Museum. In this collection, the formal trees created for public exhibitions have been transformed into the gentle blossoms suited for a domestic environment. Although the designs are consistent across the pieces, each raised flower petal and pistil, as well as each incised line in the ice, was done by hand.
Each item in this set has a delicate low-relief design of flowering plum branches over scattered, intersecting lines meant to resemble the cracked-ice surface of a frozen body of water and is signed on the base in gold pigment. While Yohei II produced many fine works in underglaze blue, like those produced by Kiyomizu Shichibei, he also made works in quite different styles later in his career, from the early 1870 s. In 1873, he was appointed purveyor to the Industrial Center of Kyoto Prefecture, a designation associated with Kyoto’s efforts to reach an international market through the port of Kobe; and from 1875 until his death, he was involved in national-level projects to present Japanese ceramics across the world. It was during this period that Yohei III was apprenticed to Yohei II, and it has been suggested that this set may in fact be an early example of Yohei III’s work, which he signed with his teacher’s name. Decorated with flowers resembling Japanese textile motifs, the set calls to mind the design of Yohei II’s pair of vases with plum blossoms in the Victoria and Albert Museum. Here, the elaborate trees created for a formal public exhibition setting have been translated into the approachable blossoms of the genteel domestic environment. While the designs are consistent across the pieces, each raised flower petal and pistil and each incised line in the ice was done by hand, so the cups, bowls, and dishes are similar yet unique.
View the original at Cleveland Museum of Art →Unusually for a Japanese statute it opens with a preamble, which states that finding joy in creating culture and living among it is an unchanging wish of people, and that culture contributes to world peace. Article 2 then sets the principles: the autonomy of those who make culture must be fully respected, and their creativity, standing and capacity considered.
The cool part. Article 2, paragraph 3 is the line worth reading twice. It says that creating and receiving culture is a right people are born with, and requires an environment in which citizens can appreciate, participate and create regardless of age, disability, economic situation, or the area they live in. Four barriers named in statute, one of which is your postcode. It puts the arts in the same grammatical register as infrastructure. Not a subsidy argued for each year, a standing obligation.
Verify at e-Gov 法令検索 →Use it Palette for a single-colour run: one ink, heavy stock, nothing else on the sheet.
Description source: museum curator text, translated — not generated