Each piece in this collection has a delicate design of plum branches with a low-relief texture, overlapped by intersecting lines meant to represent the cracked surface of frozen water, signed in gold on the base. Yohei II created many pieces with underglaze blue designs similar to those of Kiyomizu Shichibei. However, he also produced works in different styles later in his career, starting from around 1873. During this time, he was appointed as a supplier 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 showcase Japanese ceramics worldwide. It is believed that during this period, Yohei III learned under Yohei II, and this collection might be an early example of Yohei III's work, signed with his teacher's name. The pieces are decorated with flowers resembling Japanese textile patterns, evoking the design of Yohei II's pair of vases with plum blossoms at the Victoria and Albert Museum. In this collection, the formal trees created for public exhibitions have been transformed into the more approachable blossoms of a domestic setting. Although the designs are consistent, each raised flower petal and pistil, as well as each incised line in the ice, were made by hand, making each cup, bowl, and dish unique.
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 describes the Ainu as the indigenous people of the northern part of the Japanese archipelago and of Hokkaido in particular, and cites international circumstances concerning indigenous peoples as a reason for acting. It requires the government to set a basic policy, and lets municipalities draw up regional plans for approval by the Prime Minister.
The cool part. The definition in Article 2 is the part to sit with. Ainu culture means the Ainu language, and the ways of living, music, dance, crafts and other cultural products inherited among the Ainu, and cultural products developed from these. That final clause refuses to freeze the culture at a date, and treats what is made next as equally the thing being protected. The Act then reaches into trademark law, reducing or waiving registration fees for regional collective trademarks used by approved projects.
Verify at e-Gov 法令検索 →Use it A motif small enough to blind-deboss, which is where restraint actually shows.
Description source: museum curator text, translated — not generated