Karako Japanese Teacup

This splendid and paper-light Japanese teacup is a fine example of traditional sometsuke blue and white porcelain. The sunlight creates an enchanting effect as it filters through the soft, delicate translucence of the teacup’s thin white porcelain.

This teacup features the charming and lively karako - drawings of Chinese-style paintings of children that are one of the main designs of Mikawachi ware. The karako motifs, painted with care and skill, invite a sense of joy and playfulness. The hand-painted karako are rendered in gentle blue shades, capturing the innocence and liveliness of the children.

The shades of blue exhibit an exquisite gradation, achieved through the careful application by skilled craftspeople using brushes soaked in cobalt pigment. This allows the dye to flow naturally onto the porcelain, "sinking" into the clay to create a gentle and soft shade of blue. The outlines of the karako are drawn with swift precision and care, using soft and fine brushes to detail the figures and their playful actions.

This charming cup is perfect for savoring tea or sake, enhancing your drinking experience with its heartwarming and fine hand-painted porcelain. It also serves as a beautiful decorative piece, whether placed near a window or on a shelf, where the warm sunlight can highlight its fine porcelain and the enchanting karako design.

Kakusho Kiln

Kakusho Kiln is a historically prestigious kiln that used to serve the lordship of the Hirado Domain in the Edo Period (1600 CE–1868 CE). Kakusho Kiln has passed on the traditional art of sometsuke, blue designs on white porcelain, for more than 300 years.

Their lightweight and elegant porcelain is smooth to the touch, with a soft and gentle shade of blue kind to the eye.

Mikawachi ware, also known as Hirado ware, is a pottery made in Sasebo City, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan. Known for its translucent white porcelain, it was highly popular in Europe during the trend toward Japanese crafts in the West in the 20th century. Mikawachi ware is remarkable for its delicate modeling techniques that push the limits of porcelain, such as openwork and relief carving, and for its beautiful painting that looks like a single piece of art.