Japanese Teaware
Making tea comes with a little waiting built in. A Japanese tea set is made for that wait: water heats, leaves open, and for about two minutes your hands are free.
Nothing here comes as a boxed set. You put yours together piece by piece, from artisans who each made their part by hand. Ash glaze that ran and stopped where the kiln decided. Unglazed yakishime that deepens a little more each year you use it. Seaweed fired against the clay to leave its pattern behind. Sizes, care & FAQ
Artisan Works
Higuchi Maki
Grape Free Cup, Blue and Red
¥4,400
Japanese Tea Cups (Yunomi)
Japanese Teaware
Shave-Carved Choko Cup, Small Charcoal Black
¥3,300
Takahama-yaki Juho Kiln
高浜焼
¥8,700
Japanese Teaware
Ichirun Tobo
Black & White Tumbler No.4
¥2,420
Japanese Tea Cups (Yunomi)
Ichirun Tobo
Black & White Tumbler No.3
¥2,530
Japanese Tea Cups (Yunomi)
Ichirun Tobo
Line Landscape Tumbler, Green Glaze
¥3,300
Japanese Tea Cups (Yunomi)
Ichirun Tobo
Line Landscape Tumbler, White Slip
¥3,300
Japanese Tea Cups (Yunomi)
Suirin Kiln
Black Glaze Barrel Cup
¥2,530
Japanese Teaware
Bizen Ware Artist Fujiwara Akira
Kuro-Bizen Kabuto with Oni Tea Bowl — Bizen Ware
¥120,000
Japanese Teaware
Hagi Kiln Shokouzan
Shinogi Tumbler, Small, Shiro-Hagi White
¥1,980
Japanese Tea Cups (Yunomi)
Hagi Kiln Shokouzan
Shinogi Tumbler, Ao-Hagi Blue
¥2,200
Japanese Tea Cups (Yunomi)
Shoen-gama
Asagao Teacup
¥4,400
Japanese Tea Cups (Yunomi)
Buying guide
Japanese Teaware Buying Guide
What you will find here
Teapots come in a few shapes. Higuchi Maki in Tokyo paints a crow on a side-handled kyusu. Yamada Yutaro in Tokoname makes a thin, light yakishime kyusu with a strainer of fine, evenly spaced holes. Fujiwara Akira in Bizen makes handleless hohin, turned black with iron-rich clay, and Takezaki Yoko makes a Bizen pot that works for tea or coffee.
For cups, there are yunomi and free cups from Ichirun Tobo in Miyazaki, hand-painted cups by Higuchi Maki, shinogi-carved Hagi ware tumblers by Matsuura Takaharu, mogake yunomi from Tokoname and hidasuki free cups from Bizen. Matcha bowls come mostly from Bizen. Alongside them sit tea caddies, a furidashi sweets jar from Kasama, a Shigaraki katakuchi and a Bizen water pitcher sized for the refrigerator door. A few older Bizen pieces are by Living National Treasures, authenticated by the family.
How to choose
Sizes below are measured from the pieces in this collection. In Japan, sizes are often given in sun; one sun is about 3cm.
| Piece | Size here | Clay | Good for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kyusu or hohin teapot | About 7 to 11cm across the body (2.5 to 3.5 sun) | Mostly unglazed stoneware | Sencha, gyokuro |
| Yunomi or free cup | 6 to 10.5cm across, 6.5 to 12.3cm tall | Glazed stoneware, yakishime, Hagi clay | Everyday green tea, also coffee |
| Matcha bowl | 11.5 to 15.3cm across, 7 to 9.5cm tall (about 4 to 5 sun) | Mostly unglazed Bizen | Whisked matcha |
A side-handled kyusu suits sencha. A hohin, with no handle, suits gyokuro brewed at a low temperature. If you would rather shop by kind, cups have their own page of Japanese tea cups, and bowls have one of matcha bowls.
Care
Most of this Japanese tea ware is unglazed or lightly glazed stoneware and is not meant for the microwave or dishwasher. The Hagi tumblers and the Arita porcelain coffee dripper are exceptions, and every product page shows what applies to that piece. Unglazed pots are porous, so keeping one pot to one tea is how the flavor builds. Rinse with hot water and let everything dry fully, lids off, before putting it away. Before using an unglazed piece for the first time, read first use of unglazed pottery.
Questions
Can I buy a complete Japanese tea set?
Pieces are sold one at a time, so you can pair a teapot with cups by a different artisan. Choosing the same clay or a similar glaze color is an easy way to make them sit together.
Which Japanese teapot is best for green tea?
For sencha, a side-handled kyusu with a fine strainer. For gyokuro, a small hohin. The differences are set out in our Japanese teapot guide.
Are these teapots and cups microwave safe?
Most are not. Each product page lists microwave and dishwasher use for that piece, so check there before you buy.
