Blue Celadon Ladle Stand (Ao seiji shakutate), from the series Five Colors of Tea Utensils (Chaki goshiki shose), with poems by Yufusha Umetsuna, Eirakutei Tomozuru and Garyuen c. 1817 - 1819

Editor: This is Kubo Shunman's *Blue Celadon Ladle Stand* from the series *Five Colors of Tea Utensils*. It looks like a woodblock print. The subdued colors give it a quiet, contemplative mood. How would you interpret this piece? Curator: It's interesting to consider this print in the context of 18th-century Japanese society. The tea ceremony was deeply intertwined with social hierarchies and political power. How might this print, with its specific choice of a 'blue celadon' stand, be commenting on those power dynamics, or perhaps even subverting them? Editor: That's fascinating! I hadn't thought about the political implications of something as seemingly simple as a tea utensil. Curator: Art often reflects and refracts the society it's created within. Considering the social and historical context allows us to see it with new eyes. Editor: Definitely. I’ll look at art differently from now on.