{"product_id":"rare-set-10-small-plates-by-rokubei-iii-bunrin-ー三代-清水-六兵衛-塩川-文麟-すり鉢形-小バチ拾枚","title":"Rare Set 10 Small Plates by Rokubei III \u0026 Bunrin ー三代 清水 六兵衛, 塩川 文麟 “すり鉢形 小バチ拾枚”","description":"\u003cp\u003eA set of ten unique plates by the third generation Kiyomizu Rokubei dated 1874 decorated with seasonal fruits and vegetables by Shiokawa Bunrin enclosed in the original signed wooden box. The interiors are all underglaze blue on white signed by Bunrin, while the outside is red iron. All are signed inside the foot by Rokubei in blue and white, one dated 1874 followed by a long (but illegible) inscription. The dishes are 10.5 cm (4 inches) diameter, 3.5 cm (1-1\/2 inches) tall and in perfect condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eShiokawa Bunrin (1808-1877) was one of the pivotal figures in 19th-century Japanese painting. Born in Bunrin emerged as a leading figure in the Kyoto painting world during the late Edo to early Meiji period. Initially trained in the Maruyama school, known for its naturalistic renderings and delicate brushwork, Bunrin would go on to become a founding force in the development of the Shijō-Maruyama fusion that revitalized traditional Japanese painting in the 19th century. A gifted stylist and teacher, Bunrin was influenced not only by classical Chinese and Japanese literati aesthetics, but also by Western techniques filtering into Japan during his lifetime. His works often reflect a sensitive balance between realism and poetic abstraction, capturing nature’s rhythms—bamboo bending in wind, birds pausing in snowfall—with an emotional restraint and lyrical precision. Bunrin’s students included notable artists like Mori Kansai and Kōno Bairei, who would carry his vision into the modern era. He played a central role in shaping the Kyoto art scene during a period of intense cultural transformation, and his legacy endures in the refined naturalism and atmospheric nuance that came to define Kyoto Nihonga painting. He died in 1877, leaving behind a body of work that bridges tradition and innovation, infused with the quiet dignity of a painter deeply attuned to the changing world around him.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eKiyomizu Rokubei III (Koto Kuritaro, 1820-1883) was born in Kyoto second son of Rokubei II.  He took over the family kiln even younger than his own father at the age of 18 in 1838.  This was the beginning of the Bakumatsu era, the fall of the Edo Shogunate, and Kyoto would play center stage in this tumultuous era.  Vagabonds, Rebels, Reformers and Loyalists made mayhem in the streets and battles raged across the city while foreign powers leveraged unfair treaties against the reluctant Shogun.  Many advanced techniques were imported to Japan through Rangaku (Dutch studies) at the open port of Nagasaki and then from a growing number of locations after the arrival of Commodore Perry in 1853.  In 1868 the Edo government fell, and the capital was moved to Tokyo.  It is said Rokubei III then changed the family surname from Koto to Shimizu (an alternate reading of Kiyomizu), taking advantage of the character in the seal which the family used, as well as adopting wholesale the name of the district in which they were based. Rokubei III was aware of the advantages of modernism, while maintaining the traditions of the former generations.  He went to Yokohama with Miyagawa (Makuzu) Kozan in 1868.  However, unlike Kozan, who would move his entire operation to Yokohama, Rokubei made the decision to remain in Kyoto, and although he did create works in the modern style and to suit Western taste, (he was one of the artists commissioned to create pottery for the 1879 visit of former US president Ulysses S. Grant) he maintained a fairly conservative oeuvre oriented toward the Japanese aesthetic.  He excelled in porcelain wares, and was much lauded in his lifetime being awarded at a multitude of domestic exhibitions as well as internationally in Paris, Sydney and Amsterdam.  Like his forebearers, he was very much a part of the Kyoto scene at the time, and many works created by Rokubei III were decorated by top painters of the era.  Important works by poet\/artist\/nun Otagaki Rengetsu were created in the studio of Rokubei III. Work by Rokubei III is held in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of art New York, the Kyoto Hakubutsukan Museum and Ashmolean among others.  \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Shiokawa Bunrin","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50892565938423,"sku":"K1414","price":140700.0,"currency_code":"JPY","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0658\/7472\/3063\/files\/2026-05-2214.33.57.jpg?v=1782462564","url":"https:\/\/kuramonzen.com\/products\/rare-set-10-small-plates-by-rokubei-iii-bunrin-%e3%83%bc%e4%b8%89%e4%bb%a3-%e6%b8%85%e6%b0%b4-%e5%85%ad%e5%85%b5%e8%a1%9b-%e5%a1%a9%e5%b7%9d-%e6%96%87%e9%ba%9f-%e3%81%99%e3%82%8a%e9%89%a2%e5%bd%a2-%e5%b0%8f%e3%83%90%e3%83%81%e6%8b%be%e6%9e%9a","provider":"Kura Monzen Gallery","version":"1.0","type":"link"}