Seifu Yohei III was the leading figure of a Kyoto ceramics studio producing Chinese-style porcelains, particularly for sencha, or the practice of drinking steeped-leaf tea with friends. Sencha was favored by bunjin in Kyoto and Osaka, who adopted this Chinese custom as part of their cultural pursuits. Though less formal than the Japanese tea ceremony, sencha still involved the display of cherished items. Due to the scarcity of Chinese antiquities, substitutes like the Gu-shaped Flower Vase (CMA 2022.224) were highly sought after. Bowls for serving sweets, such as this one, were commonplace at sencha gatherings.
Seifū Yohei III was the most prominent head of a ceramics studio in Kyoto that specialized in Chinese-style porcelains and especially items for use in sencha (煎茶), or the drinking of steeped-leaf tea with companions. Sencha was popular among the bunjin of Kyoto and Osaka, who often enjoyed it as part of their emulation of Chinese culture. While sencha was by design less formal than the Japanese tea ceremony, it still featured the display of treasured objects. Prized Chinese antiquities were generally unobtainable, so substitutes such as the Gu-Shaped Flower Vase, CMA 2022.224, were much in demand. Bowls for distributing sweets, like this one, were also a staple of sencha gatherings.
View the original at Cleveland Museum of Art →Article 1 states the aim as a beautiful and dignified national land, and it covers not only cities but farming, mountain and fishing villages. Inside a landscape planning area, Article 16 requires advance notification of new building, extension, rebuilding, relocation, and any repair or alteration that changes the exterior. Landscape Districts go further and impose direct restrictions on the form and design of buildings.
The cool part. Read Article 16 to the end of the sentence. A change of colour is listed alongside new construction as an act you must notify. Repainting your building is, in law, the same category of event as putting up a new one. This is the machinery behind the muted shopfronts of Kyoto. The brown coffee-shop sign is not a marketing choice, it is compliance.
Verify at e-Gov 法令検索 →Use it Two-colour foil on uncoated stock gets you most of this at production cost.
Description source: museum curator text, translated — not generated