Colors of Kyoto

This is the first comprehensive look in English at the Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio in Kyoto, from the Meiji period (1868-1912) to mid Shōwa period (1926-89), taking the James and Christine Heusinger Collection at the Cleveland Museum of Art as its core material. The principal essay provides a biography of Seifū Yohei III, the star of the studio and the first ceramicist to be named an Imperial Household Artist, as well as an overview of the studio that contextualizes 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 Seifū studio for sencha. The catalogue of a hundred works examines the wide variety of forms, decorative techniques and glazes that made the studio’s works unique within ceramic production of their era.

Colors of Kyoto: The Seifū Yohei Ceramic Studio is on view at Cleveland Museum of Art, August 19, 2023 – March 10, 2024.

Author biographies

Shinya Maezaki is a professor at Kyoto Women’s University

Sinéad Vilbar is curator of Japanese Art at the Cleveland Museum of Art

Table of Contents

• • Director’s Foreword
  • Preface: Pursuit of Perfection by Marjorie L. Williams
  • Acknowledgements
  • Establishing Ceramics of Imperial Japan: The Life and Art of Seifū Yohei III by Shinya Maezaki
  • Porcelain in Kyoto by Sinéad Vilbar
  • Entries by Sinéad Vilbar
  • Appendix: Seals and signatures by Sinéad Vilbar
  • Concordance of Terms by Sinéad Vilbar
  • Bibliography
  • Index
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art Board of Trustees