Japanese Sake Ware: Vessels That Change the Taste

A World of Sake Inside a Small Cup

In Japan the culture of drinking sake runs deep. And sake is now spreading worldwide as well. Yet time spent drinking sake is not merely "time spent drinking."

Sake poured from the tokkuri, the traditional Japanese sake bottle, into a guinomi. The faint steam rising (with warmed sake), or the cold, clear liquid (with chilled). The weight of a small cup settling into the palm. The complex aroma and savour spreading through the mouth at the first sip. What completes this whole experience is Japanese sake ware.

Just as wine has its sommeliers and its dedicated glasses, sake has a culture of the cups it is drunk from. Warmed sake drunk from a Bizen ware guinomi and chilled sake drunk from a glass tumbler are experienced as entirely different things, though the sake is the same. Material, form, temperature — the choice of ware changes the taste of the sake itself. This is the core of Japanese sake ware culture.

One thing worth saying here: using Japanese sake ware by no means requires you to drink only sake. Someone living in New York, we hear, takes shots of whisky from a guinomi. In this way, all sorts of drinks can be enjoyed in Japanese sake ware.

This article covers the world of the tokkuri and the guinomi in full — their history, the character of each region, how to choose, and their value as gifts.

The History of Japanese Sake Ware: A Drinking Culture That Evolved With Its Cups

From Ancient Cups to the Birth of the Tokkuri

The history of drinking in Japan overlaps with the history of growing rice. A culture of brewing is thought to have existed already in the Yayoi period, and at first sake was enjoyed from Suyaki(bisque firing) earthenware.

By around the ninth century, in the ceremonies of the imperial court, cups of shiraki — plain wood left uncoated by pigment or lacquer, its own texture showing — were used, and ceremonial cup forms such as san-san-kudo took shape. San-san-kudo, still carried on in Japan today, is the rite in which a bride and groom drink sacred sake alternately at a Shinto wedding to bind their marriage. We will come back to it in detail later.

Ceramic sake ware spread from the Kamakura and Muromachi periods onward. The development of the tea ceremony in particular raised ceramic technique, and sake ware received the benefit.

The bottle form called the tokkuri became widespread in the Edo period. A narrow mouth, a round body. This shape suited hanging the bottle in hot water to warm the sake, and it established itself within the drinking culture of ordinary people. The small cup called the guinomi spread in the same period, and the set of tokkuri and guinomi became the symbol of Japanese drinking culture.

The Sense That "Sake Ware Is an Ingredient Like Any Other"

A sense of "enjoying the ware" is rooted in Japanese food culture. Choosing ware as a cook examines ingredients. This developed in Japan's own way, as an aesthetics of eating.

The same holds for sake: Japanese people have understood intuitively that what you drink from changes the mood of the occasion, the taste of the sake, and even the relationships around the table. "A Bizen guinomi for this sake." "A Hagi tokkuri for warmed sake." Exactly this sense has raised sake ware as a Japanese craft.

The Character of Sake Ware by Region

Bizen Ware: Sake Cups Holding the Memory of Flame

Bizen ware from Okayama Prefecture, covered in Bizen Ware: Pottery With No Glaze at All. Its tokkuri and guinomi hold a special place among Japanese sake ware. Its unglazed Yakishime (unglazed fired ware) body touches the liquid directly, and is said to change the taste of what it holds.

Specifically, many drinkers report the experience that sake poured into a Bizen guinomi "becomes rounder," "loses its edge." This is sometimes attributed to the fine irregularity of the clay surface acting on the molecular structure of the liquid — though the fact that it is "definitely felt as experience" may matter more than a scientific explanation.

A masculine strength, a unique pattern drawn by flame — Bizen sake ware shows its true worth especially when it meets a dry junmai or a matured warmed sake. Omachi rice, one of the famous rice varieties used in brewing sake, has Okayama as its main growing region, so the land has its own connection to sake.

Hagi Ware: Sake Cups That Change as You Drink From Them

Hagi ware from Yamaguchi Prefecture, the subject of Hagi Ware: The Tea Bowl That Changes Colour as You Use It. Its sake ware appeals through soft tones from white to cream, and through the "seven changes" of crazing that shift the more it is used.

A Hagi guinomi is soft against the mouth, gentle on the lips. It is held to suit sweeter junmai ginjo, fruity daiginjo, smooth sake. Hagi ware also holds heat, so it suits warmed sake as well.

Dassai, the most famous of all sake, is also brewed in Yamaguchi, so if you want to pair by region, Hagi ware and Dassai fit each other exactly.

Shigaraki Ware: Richness Felt Within Plainness

The coarse clay of Shigaraki in Shiga Prefecture produces plain, powerful sake ware. As covered in Shigaraki Ware: Why Its Clay Sparkles After 1,200 Years, a Shigaraki tokkuri embodies the spirit of wabi-sabi in its unadorned presence, holding a beauty rooted in living — the kind that calls to mind an evening drink at the hearthside.

Arita and Hasami Ware: Sake Cups in Clean White Porcelain

Porcelain sake ware with Sometsuke (blue and white porcelain) painting on clean white porcelain is ideal for enjoying chilled sake. The smooth porcelain surface lifts the transparency of the clear liquid, letting you enjoy sake with the eyes as well. It also suits a refined presentation when hosting guests. Varying the painted ware you use with your mood is another pleasure we recommend.

• Arita Ware: Japan's First Porcelain, 400 Years On
• Hasami Ware: Everyday Japanese Porcelain from Nagasaki

Kutani Ware: The Colour of a Day of Celebration

Kutani ware from Ishikawa Prefecture, introduced in Kutani Ware: Japan's Boldest Ceramic Painting. Tokkuri and guinomi in its magnificent painting are the most splendid presence among Japanese sake ware. They hold a dignity indispensable to New Year, celebratory banquets, gifts — the occasions that stand apart.

Tokoname Ware: The Wabi of Black and Red

Sake ware in Tokoname's red or black clay, from Aichi Prefecture, is made by the same Yakishime (unglazed fired ware) technique as its teapots, and holds a distinctive earthiness and plain beauty. That unadorned presence brings out the essential deliciousness of sake. → Tokoname Kyusu: Why Red Clay Makes Tea Taste Better

Forms and Functions of Japanese Sake Ware

The famous pieces of Japanese sake ware are the tokkuri and the guinomi. Within each, though, several kinds exist.

Kinds of Tokkuri

• Tsurukubi, crane-neck　The most orthodox tokkuri form, characterised by a long slender neck and a round body. Close to a wine carafe in shape, it is a tokkuri that feels familiar to people abroad.
• Zundo, straight-sided　A thick, straight form. It warms a good quantity of sake at once and loses temperature slowly — a practical shape.
• Katakuchi, lipped pourer　Ware specialised in pouring. It handles everything from warmed to chilled sake, and doubles as a container for dashi or seasonings — a versatile form. Every maker's katakuchi differs in shape, which makes collecting them a pleasure.

Kinds of Guinomi

The guinomi you drink from also comes in several kinds.

• Tsutsugata, cylindrical　A simple tall form. The narrow mouth gathers the aroma, making it ideal for enjoying the fragrance of ginjo and daiginjo.
• Hirahai, flat cup　A shallow, wide, plate-like form. Sake spreads across the whole tongue, for enjoying taste rather than aroma. Suited to chilled sake.
• Sakazuki　Ware carrying ceremonial and ritual meaning. Indispensable to Japanese traditional rites such as san-san-kudo and kagami-biraki.
• Choko　A small cylindrical cup. A versatile form, also used as the soba-choko at soba restaurants. Drinking sake from a choko is a standard scene in Japan.

The names and uses of each are organised in detail in the article below.

• Ochoko, Guinomi, Sakazuki: Japanese Sake Cups Compared

Matching Sake and Its Ware

Sake has broadly two ways of being drunk — atsukan, warmed, and reishu, chilled — and ware suited to each.

Ware Suited to Warmed Sake

For atsukan (about 45–50°C), ware with the following characteristics suits.

• Materials that hold heat　Thick ceramics (Bizen, Hagi, Shigaraki)
• A wider mouth　The aroma spreads readily
• A form easy to hold　It grows hot, so the handle and shape matter

Ware Suited to Chilled Sake

For reishu (about 10–15°C), the following ware suits.

• Thin porcelain　Delicate against the mouth, and the temperature of the sake carries through
• Cylindrical forms　The aroma gathers readily, so you can enjoy the ginjo fragrance
• Glass　Transparency presents the coolness of chilled sake to the eye

A katakuchi is not suited to warmed sake, since it cools quickly. For chilled sake, though, it lifts the aroma, and we recommend it highly.

Japanese Sake Ware as a Gift

Why It Is Ideal as a Gift Abroad

A Japanese tokkuri and guinomi set is welcomed warmly as a gift for people overseas. There are several reasons.

• 1. Compact and easy to carry　Wrapped properly, it is a size that fits in a suitcase, easy to take home even when bought in Japan, and easy to hand over as a present.
• 2. Japan concentrated into one piece　Japanese sake ware has a size and shape rarely seen abroad. It not only conveys a Japanese sense of beauty but is used daily, making it ideal as ware to be nurtured.
• 3. A universal beauty　The plain beauty of Bizen, Hagi and Shigaraki in particular has an aesthetic quality felt as beautiful across peoples and cultures. Conveyed together with the story of the region, it gives the recipient the experience of drinking while recalling the story behind the object.
• 4. Genuinely usable　Not for display alone: sake of course, but tequila, whisky on the rocks, plum wine — it works for all kinds of drinks, so anyone who drinks will use it constantly.

The price range varies widely too, making it easy to suit a gift to the person receiving it. On Japanese thinking about gifts and what it means to give ware, the articles below explain what Japanese ceramics carry with them.

• Japanese Pottery as a Gift: What to Choose for Whom
• For Gift｜Japanese pottery & culture

Nokaze also prepares pieces well suited to giving, and gift wrapping that makes them easy to hand over, so that Japanese ware reaches its recipient as a gift.

San-San-Kudo, a Japanese Custom

Finally, apart from the main subject, we explain san-san-kudo, one of the customs of Japanese drinking culture.

San-san-kudo is the rite in which a bride and groom drink sacred sake alternately at a Shinto wedding, binding their marriage. The ware used in this rite each has its own distinctive name and role. Three kinds of implement are mainly used.

The Three Stacked Cups

Three cups of differing size, stacked. From the top they are small, medium and large, and each carries the following meaning.

• The small cup (past)　Gratitude to the ancestors, and for the two having met.
• The medium cup (present)　The vow to live joining their strength together.
• The large cup (future)　A wish for the peace of the household and the prospering of descendants.

Vermilion lacquered cups are usual, but ones made of the shiraki plain wood mentioned above are also favoured for the impression of purity they give. On lacquerware itself, see the article below.

• Urushi Lacquerware: How Japanese Lacquer Is Made

The Choshi

A pourer with a long handle, for putting sake into the cups. Unlike the tokkuri used day to day, rites such as san-san-kudo use a formal nagae no choshi, a long-handled choshi in metal or lacquer.

Custom attaches paper ornaments called ocho and mecho, shaped as a male and a female butterfly, at the spout. These symbolise the prospering of descendants and harmony between husband and wife.

The Cup Stand and the Sanpo

Stands for setting the cups on. When a shrine maiden or attendant carries the cups during the rite, they are borne raised on these stands.

The Manners of San-San-Kudo

Both pouring and drinking follow the rule of dividing into three.

• When pouring　The choshi is tilted in three movements to fill the cup.
• When drinking　The first and second sips only touch the lips; the third drains the cup.

Repeating the number three — an auspicious number because it cannot be divided — for a total of nine exchanges is why it is called san-san-kudo, "three, three, nine times."

Change the Cup, and the Sake Changes

The world of Japanese sake ware is the answer of countless potters to the question of how you want to enjoy a drink. The strength of Bizen ware, the softness of Hagi ware, the splendour of Kutani. Which you choose depends on what kind of evening you want to spend.

Nokaze presents sake ware chosen from kilns across Japan, pair sets and gift sets included. From a first choice of Japanese sake ware to rounding out a collection — find here the one cup that is yours.

Related Articles and Guides

More on the Culture and History of Japanese Ceramics

• Reading Wabi-Sabi in a Single Bowl
• Wabi-Sabi in Ceramics: What It Actually Means
• Pottery That 'Grows': How Ceramics Change With Use

More on Japan's Kiln Regions

• Japanese Pottery Styles: 10 Kiln Regions at a Glance
• Arita Ware: Japan's First Porcelain, 400 Years On
• Bizen Ware: Pottery With No Glaze at All
• Shigaraki Ware: Why Its Clay Sparkles After 1,200 Years
• Hagi Ware: The Tea Bowl That Changes Colour as You Use It
• Kutani Ware: Japan's Boldest Ceramic Painting
• Bizen vs Hagi: Two Opposite Ideas of Wabi-Sabi
• Tokoname Kyusu: Why Red Clay Makes Tea Taste Better

Knowing Sake Ware Better

• Ochoko, Guinomi, Sakazuki: Japanese Sake Cups Compared
• Sake and Its Vessels: A Guide to Drinking It Properly
• Japanese Tableware: The Complete Beginner's Guide

How to Buy Japanese Ceramics

• About Us｜Japanese pottery & culture
• Buying Japanese Pottery Online: What to Check First
• New Arrivals