Description

Seifū Yohei III (1851–1914) was a son of the Maruyama school painter Okada Ryōhei (dates unknown). Though he studied painting, he ultimately succeeded his ceramics mentor, Seifū Yohei II (1845–1878), in Kyoto. He distinguished himself as a remarkable porcelain artist, taking Qing dynasty Chinese wares as his inspiration. He experimented widely with new glazing techniques. In 1893, he became the first ceramicist to be appointed as an Imperial Household Artist under a system introduced by the Japanese government in 1890. He produced many works for use in Chinese-style tea gatherings called sencha.