This bowl has a landscape with figures in blue and iron oxide. The scene is set along a river with mountains in the distance, likely in the Jiangnan region of southern China, famous for compositions of the Eight Views of the Xiao and Xiang Rivers and of West Lake in Hangzhou. There are two people in the foreground: one person fishes along the riverbank across from a rustic hermit’s lodge sited on stilts over the water’s edge; on the other side of the bowl, a person with a tall staff gazes at the full moon, accompanied by his servant. The foot has a double band in blue, while another blue band encircles the bowl just beneath the rim, which is covered in red iron oxide. The inside of the footring is also circled in blue around the impressed mark.
View the original at Cleveland Museum of Art →Article 1 sets a purpose larger than preservation: to preserve cultural properties AND to make use of them, contributing to the cultural advancement of the people and to the progress of world culture. Article 4 turns that outward. An owner must recognise the object as a precious national asset, preserve it for the public, and make it public as far as possible. Ownership here carries a duty to show.
The cool part. "Living National Treasure" appears nowhere in the statute. Article 71 requires that when an Important Intangible Cultural Property is designated, the minister must also certify its holder or holding group. Japan does not register the pot, it registers the potter. Article 96 is the one that reaches ordinary people: if you uncover a shell mound, a dwelling site or a tumulus, you must leave it exactly as it is and notify the Commissioner for Cultural Affairs without delay, and the Commissioner can freeze the ground for up to three months.
Verify at e-Gov 法令検索 →Use it The border is the idea. Use it as an edge treatment and leave the centre empty.
Description source: museum curator text — not generated