Qing-style porcelain in Meiji Japan: The ceramic art of Seifu Yohei III.

This thesis presents the first detailed study of the life and work of Seifu Yohei III, in either English or Japanese. Seifu Yohei III (1851-1914) was one of the leading ceramic artists of the Meiji period and highly acclaimed both in Japan and abroad during his lifetime. Being a literati-style painter and an unabashed Sinophile, Seifu created works that display the distinctive characteristics of Qing porcelain. The multi-faceted character of this artist provides an opportunity to explore crucial issues concerning the transformation of Japanese art in general at the beginning of Japan's modem age. The clientele for such works was an elite with similar predilections for Chinese-style wares, though patronage of his works extended even to the Imperial Household of Japan. A study of Seifu Yohei III demonstrates that Japanese ceramics cannot be discussed in terms of a linear, uniformly progressive development mirroring the Westernisation of Japan. Seifu's career reveals the co-existence of what might normally be perceived as irreconcilable factors in terms of its regional, social, economic and cultural environments, often involving interaction with China. Each chapter takes up a different issue surrounding Seifu Yohei III in the context of the production and consumption of art in Meiji Japan. This interdisciplinary analysis of the life and work of Seifu Yohei III also sheds light on the social, economic and cultural factors affecting other potters of the Meiji era. It takes on previously neglected issues concerning what happened in the area of ceramic production inside Japan and, more broadly, in East Asia as a whole

エドコウキ カラ メイジキ ニ オケル クタニヤキ ト キョウヤキ ノ ソウゴ コウリュウ

This paper focuses on the interactions of potters and the exchanging of technological knowledge between two of the most important ceramic production sites: Kutani ware of Ishikawa Prefecture and Kyoto ware. Japanese ceramics are often classified by the site of production and are discussed as if both their technological and artistic developments had fruited independently. However, through this research it was revealed that there was a considerable amount of human interactions between the two sites. In the late Edo to early Meiji period, Kyoto potters were invited by the lord of the Kaga clan and developed the foundations of modern Kutani ware. In the Meiji period, on the other hand, dozens if not hundreds of Kutani potters moved to Kyoto and joined ceramic factories. Among them were leading ceramic artists such as Suwa Sozan I (1851-1922) and Miyanaga Tozan I (1868-1941) who played vital roles in the modernization of Kyoto ware in the early twentieth century. By comparing historical records, this paper will demonstrate the interdependency of the two major ceramic production sites.学術論

Divergent synthesis of (+)-tanikolide and its analogues employing stereoselective rhodium(II)-catalyzed reaction

In this study, we described the divergent synthesis of (+)-tanikolide and its analogues, such as (4S)- and (4R)-hydroxytanikolides, and nortanikolide, employing a stereoselective dirhodium(II)-catalyzed reaction to construct the quaternary chiral center of tanokolides. The key steps involve (a) a dirhodium(II)-catalyzed oxonium ylide formation–[2,3]-sigmatropic rearrangement, (b) an N-heterocyclic carbene-catalyzed ring-expansion lactonization of tetrahydrofurfural, or (c) an oxidative cleavage of tetrahydrofuran-5-methanol to γ-lactone using a 2-iodobenzamide catalyst. This route would provide high flexibility for analogue synthesis because the long side chain can be introduced at a later stage in the synthesis

Dietary chitosan enhances hepatic CYP7A1 activity and reduces plasma and liver cholesterol concentrations in diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in rats

The present study was performed to elucidate the hypocholesterolemic action of chitosan on the diet-induced hypercholesterolemia in rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=24) were fed with chitosan-free diet (Control), diets containing 2% or 5% chitosan for 4 weeks. Hypercholesterolemia was induced by adding 1% cholesterol and 0.5% cholic acid to all diets. Body weight gain and food intake of rats did not differ among the groups. The chitosan treated groups showed significant improvement in the plasma concentration of total cholesterol and LDL-cholesterol compared to the control group (p<0.05). Also, the chitosan treated groups decreased the liver concentration of total lipid and total cholesterol compared to the control group (p<0.05). The activity of hepatic cholesterol 7α-hydroxylase (CYP7A1), the rate-limiting enzyme in the conversion of cholesterol to bile acids, was increased by 123% and 165% for the 2% or 5% chitosan diets, respectively. These findings suggest that enhancement of hepatic CYP7A1 activity may be a mechanism, which can partially account for the hypocholesterolemic effect of dietary chitosan in cholesterol metabolism

Antioxidant and renoprotective activity of chitosan in nephrectomized rats.

The effect of chitosan on oxidative stress and chronic renal failure was investigated using 5/6 nephrectomized rats. The ingestion of chitosan over a 4-week period resulted in a significant decrease in total body weight, glucose, serum creatinine and indoxyl sulfate levels (P=0.0011, P=0.0006, P=0.0012, and P=0.0005, respectively), compared with the non-treated nephrectomized group. The ingestion of chitosan also resulted in a lowered ratio of oxidized to reduced albumin (P=0.003) and an increase in biological antioxidant potential (P=0.023). Interestingly, the oxidized albumin ratio was correlated with serum indoxyl sulfate levels in vivo. These results suggest that the ingestion of chitosan results in a significant reduction in the levels of pro-oxidants, such as uremic toxins, in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby inhibiting the subsequent development of oxidative stress in the systemic circulation.The effect of chitosan on oxidative stress and chronic renal failure was investigated using 5/6 nephrectomized rats. The ingestion of chitosan over a 4-week period resulted in a significant decrease in total body weight, glucose, serum creatinine and indoxyl sulfate levels (P=0.0011, P=0.0006, P=0.0012, and P=0.0005, respectively), compared with the non-treated nephrectomized group. The ingestion of chitosan also resulted in a lowered ratio of oxidized to reduced albumin (P=0.003) and an increase in biological antioxidant potential (P=0.023). Interestingly, the oxidized albumin ratio was correlated with serum indoxyl sulfate levels in vivo. These results suggest that the ingestion of chitosan results in a significant reduction in the levels of pro-oxidants, such as uremic toxins, in the gastrointestinal tract, thereby inhibiting the subsequent development of oxidative stress in the systemic circulation

Chitosan Modification and Pharmaceutical/Biomedical Applications

Chitosan has received much attention as a functional biopolymer for diverse applications, especially in pharmaceutics and medicine. Our recent efforts focused on the chemical and biological modification of chitosan in order to increase its solubility in aqueous solutions and absorbability in the in vivo system, thus for a better use of chitosan. This review summarizes chitosan modification and its pharmaceutical/biomedical applications based on our achievements as well as the domestic and overseas developments: (1) enzymatic preparation of low molecular weight chitosans/chitooligosaccharides with their hypocholesterolemic and immuno-modulating effects; (2) the effects of chitin, chitosan and their derivatives on blood hemostasis; and (3) synthesis of a non-toxic ion ligand—D-Glucosaminic acid from Oxidation of D-Glucosamine for cancer and diabetes therapy