Teapot from Tea Set with Chinese Landscape

1893–1914

Seifū Yohei III 三代清風与平

(Japanese, 1851–1914)

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Culture

Japan, Meiji period (1868–1912)

Medium

Porcelain with underglaze blue

Measurements

height with lid: 9.2 cm (3 5/8 in.)

Credit Line

Gift of James and Christine Heusinger 2022.171.1

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Location

Not on view

Did You Know?

The teapot depicts two friends playing a board game on a promontory beyond a two-storied residence, while another figure comes across the entry bridge bearing bags of provisions, hung from the ends of a pole balanced across his shoulders.

Description

This tea set with idyllic lakeside Chinese landscapes has a side-handled pot called a kyūsu, used for steeping, straining, and serving tea. Unlike some others, this set also has a yuzamashi, a container used to cool boiled water to just the right temperature for the best flavor when steeping. Seifū Yohei III’s painting teacher, Tanomura Chokunyū (1814–1907), made a visual record of famous sencha events that shows how these kinds of porcelains fit with objects such as a stove and kettle to form a complete set of utensils for tea preparation, and with ensembles of decorative objects meant to inspire creativity