Japanese plates 皿

How are Japanese plates sized?

Japanese plates are still sized using sun, a traditional unit of length worth about three centimetres, so a plate's stated size tells you the diameter before you see a photo. A 3-sun mamezara measures about 9 centimetres across, the tiny dish used for soy sauce, a pinch of grated ginger or a single sweet. A 5-sun kozara comes in at about 15 centimetres, a shared side plate or a slice of cake. A 7-sun plate, about 21 centimetres, is the everyday size for a main dish. An 8-sun plate, about 24 centimetres, is the one that holds a full main course or a serving of pasta. None of this is marked on the plate itself; it is a naming convention carried over from the maker's own measuring system.

What is a mamezara, and what does it double as?

A mamezara earns its keep well beyond the dinner table. Our Arita-ware plum knot small dish, shaped around a mizuhiki knot motif, is sized for condiments and small sides and doubles as a chopstick or spoon rest, which is typical of the size class. Chopstick rests get their own page if that side use interests you more than the plate itself.

What kilns do our plates come from?

What we stock spans porcelain and stoneware from several different kilns rather than one house look. Mino ware, from the district around Toki in Gifu, supplies our yuzu small plate, a hand-painted piece whose own listing calls Toki the centre of Japan's ceramic tableware industry. Arita ware, from Saga Prefecture in Kyushu, contributes the plum knot dish above, porcelain from a tradition begun in the 17th century and once exported to Europe under the name Imari. Kutani ware, from Ishikawa, gives us a hand-painted round plate carrying overglaze reds, greens and blues over porcelain. Shigaraki ware, from Koka City in Shiga, supplies a three-legged lotus leaf platter carved with leaf veins under a glossy glaze. Banko ware rounds it out with a white spiral textured plate.

Porcelain or stoneware: does it change how you use a plate?

It changes how you wash a plate more than how you eat off it. Porcelain is vitrified during firing, so it absorbs almost no water and rings when tapped. Stoneware is high-fired and dense, and it stays heavier, with the clay body visible under the glaze. Both sit on the same table without issue; the difference shows up in care, covered below.

Do all our plates go in the dishwasher and microwave?

No, and the split follows the decoration rather than the kiln. Our Banko spiral plate and Mino yuzu small plate are both listed as dishwasher and microwave safe. The Arita plum knot dish is the delicate one: its listing puts the overglaze painting at risk from repeated dishwasher cycles and keeps the microwave out. The Kutani round plate is hand-painted too; hand washing is recommended to keep the colour bright, though the maker says the microwave is fine. The Shigaraki lotus leaf platter is best hand washed for long life. Check the individual listing before you run a hand-painted plate through either machine.

Quick answers

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

What does "5-sun" mean on a plate listing? It is a traditional Japanese size unit; one sun is about three centimetres, so a 5-sun plate measures roughly 15 centimetres across.

What is a mamezara used for? A small dish, about 9 centimetres across, mainly for soy sauce, condiments or a single sweet; some double as a chopstick rest.

Can a hand-painted plate go in the dishwasher? Usually not recommended. Overglaze and hand-painted decoration is better hand washed; plain glazed pieces are more often listed as dishwasher safe, so check the listing.

What is the difference between porcelain and stoneware? Porcelain is fired hard enough to become glassy and near-waterproof; stoneware is high-fired and dense, and it stays heavier, with the clay body visible under the glaze.