Originally from a set of 12, each of these 11 sencha teacups has a different landscape wrapped around the body, giving individual cups their own engaging narrative. These paintings are comfortingly familiar in their formulaic qualities, known to any casual fan of ink painting; they are also enjoyable in the way the narratives are revealed as one manipulates the cups. They would be perfect as conversation pieces for a tea gathering. Four of the cups focus on travelers approaching residences. Two have a person crossing a bridge as their central motif: one man has a backpack, and the other, a cloth-wrapped bundle hanging from a pole slung over his shoulder. Another cup depicts a pair of friends gathered together on rock platforms. A single cup shows a man carrying a furled banner toward a pavilion. The remaining three cups feature people riding in boats: two have literati passengers, and the third is occupied by a fisherman. Seifu Yohei IV’s training as a painter with Tanomura Shosai (1847–1909), an adoptive son of Tanomura Chokunyu, his father’s painting teacher, is evident in the details of the tiny worlds created on the cups.
View the original at Cleveland Museum of Art →A weapons statute that contains the most important art registry in the country. Article 2 defines a sword by measurement: a blade of fifteen centimetres or more for a sword, spear or naginata, five and a half for a dagger. Article 14 then carves out an exception. The prefectural board of education registers old firearms of value as art or antiques, and swords of value as art, on the basis of an appraisal by registration examiners appointed for their scholarly knowledge.
The cool part. A Japanese sword is lawful to own because it has been certified as art. Not because it was disarmed, not because it was licensed as a weapon. The judgement is made by the board of education, and Article 14 then requires the board to notify the prefectural public safety commission of what it has decided. The culture side rules, and the police are informed afterwards. Fail the appraisal and the same object becomes contraband.
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 — not generated