Each piece in this collection has a delicate design of low-relief plum branches with intersecting lines, resembling cracked ice on frozen water, signed in gold on the base. Yohei II created many underglaze blue pieces similar to those made by Kiyomizu Shichibei, but he also produced works in different styles later in his career from the early 1870s. In 1873, he was appointed as a supplier to the Industrial Center of Kyoto Prefecture, linked to Kyoto's efforts to reach an international market through Kobe Port. From 1875 until his death, he was involved in national projects promoting Japanese ceramics abroad. During this period, Yohei III was Yohei II's apprentice, and it's suggested that this set might be an early example of Yohei III's work, signed with his teacher's name. The designs on this set resemble Japanese textile patterns, reminiscent of Yohei II's pair of vases with plum blossoms in the Victoria and Albert Museum. In the home setting, formal exhibition trees have been transformed into the accessible blossoms of a gentle domestic environment. Although the designs are consistent, each raised petal and pistil, and each incised ice line was made by hand, making each cup, bowl, and dish unique. The bottoms of two bowls:
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 →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 Palette for a single-colour run: one ink, heavy stock, nothing else on the sheet.
Description source: museum curator text, translated — not generated