Product Description
Some pieces of pottery ask to be admired. This one asks to be smiled at.
Founded in 1879 in Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Kamide Choemon Kiln has spent more than 130 years carrying forward the craft of Kutani ware — vivid overglaze enamel work, richly saturated underglaze blue, and a body prized for both its strength and its beauty, shaped and painted by hand, one piece at a time. What sets this kiln apart is that it has never simply repeated the past: alongside time-honored technique, its artisans keep asking what Kutani ware can become today, an approach that has earned the kiln recognition both in Japan and abroad.
These teacups take "Fuefuki" (The Flute Player), a beloved motif the kiln has painted for sixty years, and give it an unexpected twist. Alongside the original flute player in his kimono, a whole cast of characters now appears: a trumpeter, a saxophonist, a drummer, a guitarist, a bassist, a pianist, a trombonist, even a DJ at the turntables and a figure riding a skateboard. Rendered in the kiln's signature deep indigo underglaze against pure white porcelain, these are Edo-period figures caught mid-groove — twelve designs in all, each with its own quiet sense of rhythm, meant to be collected and mixed on the table.
It's a small, delightful collision of centuries, brought to life through genuine, generations-deep craftsmanship. Beautiful enough for a daily cup of tea, distinctive enough to give as a gift to someone who thinks they already have enough teacups.
