This is the first comprehensive look in English at the Seifu Yohei Ceramic Studio in Kyoto, from the Meiji period (1868 1912) to the mid Showa period (1926 89), the James and Christine Heusinger Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art as its core material. The principal essay provides a biography of Seifu Yohei III, the star of the studio and the first ceramist to be named an Imperial Household Artist, as well as an overview of the studio that contextualises it in the world of literati painting, sencha (steeped green tea) and international trade. A second essay offers a brief history of porcelain production in Kyoto, as well as a discussion of objects produced by the Seifu studio for sencha. This catalogue of a hundred works examines the wide variety of forms, decorative techniques and glazes that made the studio's works unique. AUTHORS: Shinya Maezaki is a professor at Kyoto Women's University. Sinead Vilbar is curator of Japanese Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art. SELLING POINTS: . Features the Seifu Yohei Ceramic Studio in Kyoto from the Meiji period (1868-1912) to early Showa period (1926-89) . Focuses on the domestic market vs. international market, modernization vs. Westernization, and China as a cultural model . Biographical essay on Seifu Yohei III . Essay on sencha . Great photography of Seifu works displaying a great variety of techniques, glazes, and forms 160 colour illustrations

This book is dedicated to Godai, an installation by Japanese artist Tanabe Chikuunsai IV, who represents the fourth generation of a prestigious line of kagoshi (master wickerwork weavers) in Japan. Godai is a homage to nature and to a tradition of handcraftsmanship. This monumental work, six meters high and nearly as broad at its base, was installed in 2016 in the Rotunda of the Musee des Arts Asiatiques Guimet in Paris and presented to the public from April 12th through September 19th, when the artist still presented himself under the name of Tanabe Shouchiku III. The structure, composed of 8,000 small pieces of bamboo prepared in Japan, was extremely well received. It represents a world in which the five elements, godoi, that make up our world (wind, water, earth, void and fire, according to Japanese tradition) intertwine. Tanabe couldn't find a more suitable material. Tough yet flexible, bamboo has been part of the lives of people in Asia since ancient times and used for numerous purposes. Because of its great significance (it represents 'principles, integrity and constancy'), it has also been represented in many historic paintings and used as a design motif in stationery and furniture. Tanabe's works are both historic and modern and invite a response from the viewer. His bamboo installations, presented in a form adapted to the space in which they are displayed, induce viewers to be aware of and appreciate that space. Each work is dismantled at the end of the exhibition to leave just its memory. And the same bamboo is used for new installations, giving a tangible sense to the concepts of 'continuity' and 'rebirth' and providing a sense of connection with space that transcends time. Godai is no exception: a monumental and ephemeral work, like a piece of organic architecture, it transmits positive energy. Text in English and French.