Kumidashi Oribe Chrysanthemum Yunomi Tea Cup Saucer

This wide, low tea cup is a kumidashi yunomi (汲み出し湯呑) — the shallow, open-mouthed cup a Japanese household brings out when a guest arrives. It is paired here with a turned wooden saucer (chataku 茶托).

The cup is a fine example of Seto Akazu ware (瀬戸赤津焼), thrown by hand on the potter's wheel at Rokubei Kiln in Seto City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Seto is one of the oldest continuously working pottery centers in the country, with a ceramic history reaching back more than a thousand years.

It is finished in the E-Oribe (絵織部) style, literally "painted Oribe." A deep green Oribe glaze (織部釉) covers the body and pools darker where it gathers, breaking into streaks of blue-green as it runs. Reserved into this green ground are panels of pale ivory glaze, each painted freehand in iron oxide (tetsue 鉄絵) with a chrysanthemum roundel — the kiku, a flower long associated in Japan with autumn, longevity, and formal hospitality. The petals radiate in quick, confident strokes, and because every panel is drawn by hand, no two cups are alike.

Across the ivory panels runs a fine network of crackle lines known as kannyu (貫入), formed naturally as the glaze and the clay body cool at different rates. In Japan these lines are valued rather than avoided; they take on tea and deepen in tone over years of use, so the cup slowly becomes a record of how it has been used.

The wide mouth lets the aroma of green tea rise to meet you, while the low, heavy form sits steadily in the palm. The thickness of the clay holds the temperature of the drink and softens the feel against the lips, something glass and metal cannot offer. Although it is a tea cup by tradition, the shape works equally well for sake, shochu, whiskey, or simply cold water.

The turned wooden saucer lifts the cup off the table and keeps heat and condensation away from the surface. Its warm grain is a deliberate counterpoint to the cool green of the glaze — a pairing of materials Japanese tea service has used for centuries.

Seto Akazu ware is recognized as a Certified Traditional Japanese Craft, and Rokubei Kiln is among its most respected studios, known for producing works for the Japan Pavilion at Expo Milano and the Ise-Shima G7 Summit.

Please note: The wooden saucer you receive may differ from the one shown in the photographs.

Care: Because of the kannyu crackle, please wash the cup by hand and avoid the dishwasher. Do not soak it for long periods, and dry it fully before storing. Not suitable for oven or direct flame. The wooden saucer should be wiped with a damp cloth and dried immediately — never submerge it, and keep it out of the dishwasher and away from direct sunlight.