Japanese mugs マグカップ

Where does the mug fit on a Japanese table?

Japan's first café opened in Tokyo in 1888, and coffee did not become an everyday drink until the country modernised in the following decades. The mug followed coffee rather than tea, so it sits on the table as an informal, everyday cup alongside the yunomi rather than in place of it. Most of what we stock treats the mug as a Western shape applied to a familiar Japanese glaze tradition rather than a separate craft of its own.

What are ours made from?

Mino ware supplies an Oribe-glazed mug in a deep green at 330 millilitres and a white Jun-style matte glaze mug, both from the pottery district of eastern Gifu. Kutani ware contributes a hand-painted mug carrying a cat in a cherry blossom scene, in the strong overglaze colour the ware is known for. Shigaraki ware, through the Hechimon workshop line, supplies a black-glazed mug and saucer at about 180 millilitres, marked by the wood-kiln firing that gives Shigaraki pieces their fire scorch and ash glaze. Tojiki Tonya's Kikka off-white mug also comes from the Mino district. Kyoto's Kiyomizu tradition appears again through Asahido, whose matte tenmoku mug uses yuteki tenmoku, an oil-spot glaze technique that came from Song-dynasty China, fired here matte rather than glossy so no two mugs come out alike.

Does every mug on our shelf actually have a handle?

Not quite. Kanese Noda's Dusty Clay Hana mug is handleless, described on its own listing as a handleless ceramic cup for tea, coffee or water. On a Japanese listing, "mug" sometimes just means an everyday cup rather than a strictly Western handled shape, so check a listing's photos if the handle matters to you.

Do all our mugs go in the dishwasher and microwave?

Mostly, with one exception. Mino ware's Oribe green mug and Tojiki Tonya's Kikka off-white mug are both listed as dishwasher and microwave safe. Kutani's cat mug and Shigaraki's Hechimon mug and saucer are hand wash recommended but microwave safe, and Kanese Noda's handleless mug is the same. Asahido's matte tenmoku mug is the exception: the listing rules out both the microwave and the dishwasher, since the oil-spot glaze wants hand washing only.

Quick answers

These are the questions people ask us most often about Japanese mugs, answered briefly.

Is there a traditional Japanese word for mug? No old word survives for it because mugs arrived with coffee, which became an everyday Japanese drink long after tea culture was set.

Which of your mugs come from the same kilns as your teacups? Mino ware appears across both; the same clay bodies and glazes turn up on a handled mug and a handleless teacup alike.

Can a hand-painted mug go in the dishwasher? Hand wash is usually recommended for hand-painted pieces like the Kutani cat mug, though most are still listed as microwave safe.

Does every Kakumei mug have a handle? Not every one. Kanese Noda's Dusty Clay Hana mug is handleless despite being sold as a mug.