A coffee cup painted with red plum blossoms against a background of flowing hakeme (brush-stroke) marks.

“Ninsei of Kyoto, Utsutsugawa of the West”
This is how collectors of ceramics describe Utsutsugawa ware, once called a phantom ware. Left without a successor from the end of the Edo period onwards, Utsutsugawa ware was brought back to life by the hand of the 12th-generation Yokoishi Gagyu.

The Hakeme Technique
Utsutsugawa ware is distinguished by its thin construction and by the traditional technique called hakeme, worked across dark brown clay. Its motifs evoke the sea at one moment and a mysterious grassland at another. Today the current head of the kiln carries on the revival of Utsutsugawa ware entrusted to him by his predecessor, while continuing to create new hakeme.

A Phantom Ware Reborn
Leaping across two hundred and fifty years, the phantom Utsutsugawa ware has been revived for the present day. With its distinctive hakeme technique it sings the scenes of nature beautifully — a superb work truly worthy of the name of an Intangible Cultural Property designated by Nagasaki Prefecture.

Why a Paulownia Box
Paulownia wood is light, resists moisture and insects, and moves with changes in humidity — which is why it has been used in Japan for centuries to store what is valuable. A piece delivered in a paulownia box arrives ready to give, and the box itself is part of the gift.

Contents and Dimensions
Coffee cup × 1, booklet, paulownia box.
Cup: Diameter: 7.8cm, Height: 6.8cm / Saucer: Diameter: 14.2cm, Height: 2.6cm
As each piece is handmade, slight variations in size may occur.