Each piece in this collection has a delicate low-relief design of flowering plum branches over intersecting lines that resemble cracked ice on a frozen body of water. The signature on the base is in gold pigment. 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. During this time, Yohei II was appointed as a purveyor 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 globally. It is believed that Yohei III was apprenticed to Yohei II during this period, and this collection might be an early example of Yohei III's work, which he signed with his teacher's name. The designs on the pieces feature flowers resembling Japanese textile motifs. These motifs remind us of Yohei II's pair of vases with plum blossoms at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In the formal public exhibition setting, elaborate trees were used. However, in the domestic environment, these designs have been translated into the more approachable blossoms.
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 →It protects not the buildings but the setting that holds them. Article 2 defines historic landscape as land where structures and remains of historical significance form a single whole with the surrounding natural environment, which is the legal way of saying the hills, the approaches and the sightlines. The ancient capitals are Kyoto, Nara and Kamakura, plus any other municipality added by Cabinet Order. The Minister of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism designates a preservation area; city planning then carves a Special Preservation District over its core, and inside that district an owner needs permission from the prefectural governor to build, to fell timber, or to change the shape of the ground.
The cool part. It legislates the view, and then it pays for it. Article 10 requires the prefecture to compensate an owner who suffers loss because permission was refused. Article 12 goes further: where refusal seriously impairs the use of the land, the owner can require the prefecture to buy it, at market value. So the state does not merely tell you what the horizon behind a temple may look like. It agrees to purchase the land rather than let the skyline change. Two more things worth knowing. The prefecture must physically sign the district boundary, and a landowner may not obstruct the sign without just cause. And the ministry holding the pen is Transport, not Culture.
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