Japanese Housewarming Gifts: What Lands Well, and What to Avoid

With a housewarming gift, the most common mistake is that the present itself takes away space.

Someone who has just moved into a new home is still deciding where everything lives. A large ornament, or a piece of furniture with a strong look, arrives into that and creates a situation where they have nowhere to put it and no wish to put it anywhere.

Japanese pottery is safe on exactly that count. It fits on a shelf, it gets used every day, and it diminishes only as it is used. This guide covers the difference between a new-build and a rented move, what lands well and what causes trouble, what to spend when the recipient is a friend, and the pieces best avoided for a new-build.

A new-build and a move are two different occasions

The two get used interchangeably, but the recipient's situation is not the same.

The mizuhiki cord is a red and white bow in every case. This is an occasion that may happily happen more than once, so the tied-off musubikiri knot is not used. When in doubt, O-iwai works, and will not be impolite in any of the three cases.

What lands well, and what causes trouble

Lined up from the recipient's point of view, the dividing line is clear.

The key to giving pottery is not to increase the count. One good piece beats a set of five. For a couple, a pair. That balance is what pleases people most.

What to avoid for a new-build

This is the part that is easy to get wrong without knowing.

For a new-build, there is a custom of avoiding anything that suggests fire. Lighters, ashtrays, stoves, candles. And red things have also been avoided, as a reminder of flame.

In pottery, two categories apply.

• Donabe　A clay pot goes over a naked flame, so it is safest to leave out of a new-build gift. A donabe is excellent as a practical piece, but it does choose its occasion
• Strongly red pieces　Work where vermilion or red enamel leads. Even where the painted motif itself is auspicious, the colour alone can be reason enough to avoid it

Note that the custom does not apply to a move into rented housing. The idea of suggesting fire is tied specifically to celebrating the building of a house.

What to spend on a friend

This is the question most often searched. The guideline shifts with the relationship.

When giving to a friend, the most common mistake is spending too much. Going well over the guideline creates the burden of a return gift for the recipient. Between 5,000 and 10,000 yen, one piece of real quality. That is the choice that asks least of anyone.

Giving as a group, you can pool 3,000 yen each and buy a 15,000 yen large plate. It raises the value without raising the count, which suits pottery as a gift particularly well.

By type: what actually gets used in a new home

In the order they genuinely see use in a new household.

• Mugs and cups　The first thing reached for in the morning. When you do not know the size of their hands, 250 to 300ml. Mugs
• Individual and serving plates　Five to six sun (about 15 to 18cm) suits Japanese and Western food alike. Two is plenty. Plates
• Rice bowls　Used daily, yet the piece people put off buying for themselves. As a pair it feels like a new household. Bowls
• Single-stem vases　For a new home, this is the quietest and most effective choice. It needs no particular place, and it gives the habit of keeping flowers rather than just the object. Vases
• Sake ware　For a household that drinks in the evening. A guinomi cup with a katakuchi pourer is the easy combination. Sake ware

Sizes are set out in the sun to cm chart, and choosing by type in Japanese tableware basics.

Choosing by how much care they will give

How much the recipient is willing to look after a piece changes which material to pick.

When you cannot read how interested they are, choose porcelain. It does not absorb water, so no sealing is needed and it asks nothing of them. The difference in materials is covered in stoneware vs porcelain, and everyday handling in caring for Japanese ceramics.

When to give it

For a new-build, within half a month to two months of the move is the guideline. If you are invited over, take it with you on the day you visit.

The same holds for a move, where it is welcome once things have settled. Moving day itself is the worst possible day. It only adds to the pile.

If you are sending to someone living overseas, check delivery times first. Details are on the gift page.

Three things to settle before you give

• 1. New-build, or rented　For a new-build, leave out anything that suggests fire. For rented, there is nothing to worry about
• 2. Living alone, or two or more　Alone, one mug or one rice bowl. For two, a pair. Never give more pieces than there are people
• 3. Will they look after it　If you cannot tell, porcelain. Do not make care their problem

The wider thinking on pottery as a gift is in Japanese pottery gifts, and weddings in Japanese wedding gifts.

Related reading

Choosing as a gift

• Japanese Pottery Gifts: Ceramics That Grow More Beautiful with Every Use
• Japanese Wedding Gift | A Pair, or One Piece They Share
• Japanese Pottery Patterns: What the Motifs Actually Mean
• Buying Pottery That Lasts a Lifetime, Not a Season

Before choosing a piece

• Japanese Tableware Complete Guide
• Japanese Plate Sizes: Sun to cm Conversion Chart
• Stoneware vs Porcelain: How to Tell Them Apart
• How to Care for Japanese Ceramics: A Practical Guide

Choosing by type

• Japanese Mugs | Handmade Ceramic Mugs from Japanese Potters
• Japanese Plates | Handmade Ceramic Plates from Japan
• Japanese Ceramic Vase | Handmade Flower Vases from Japan
• Japanese Bowls | Rice Bowls, Soup Bowls & Matcha Bowls