Japanese vases 花瓶

What vases do we carry?

Our current vase range splits between two makers and two materials. Nousaku supplies six tin flower vase designs, cast at its Takaoka foundry: Hoop Maru and its taller sibling Hoop Takaku, a plain ring shape in tin; Lasso Maru, Lasso Kaku and Lasso Takaku, three sizes of the same loop silhouette; and Suzu Icicle Cracked Ice, a cone built to hang on a wall rather than stand on a shelf. Kutani ware supplies one small porcelain vase in four hand painted colourways: black, camellia yellow, cherry blossom green and temari white. Every one of them is built for a single stem rather than a full arrangement. Nousaku's own history covers brass and bronze casting too, so a brass vase from them is not out of the question later. Every vase we list today is pure tin, and no brass vase is currently on the shelf. The cherry blossom green Kutani colourway currently shows no way to add it to a cart; the rest of the range is open for order.

What is an ichirin-zashi, and how do you use one?

A vase, in plain Japanese, is a container built for cut flowers. A small one earns its own name: the Japanese Wikipedia entry on the vase puts it directly, smaller vases are called ichirin-zashi, a single-stem vase. The same entry notes that in the tea ceremony the vase goes by a different name again, hana-ire, used to bring colour and a note of formality into the tea room. That single-stem idea is not only a tea-room convention. The English Wikipedia article on ikebana quotes the Kyoto ikebana teacher Hayato Nishiyama saying he likes working with just one flower, to help people concentrate on the beauty of an individual bloom. An ichirin-zashi asks less of a room than a full arrangement does. One stem, cut to length, fills it completely, so it suits a shelf, a windowsill or a desk where a bigger arrangement would crowd the space. Every vase we stock is built at that scale.

Tin or porcelain: how do you choose?

Nousaku casts its vases in pure tin, the same material behind its cups and plates. Pure tin can be nudged into a slightly wider or narrower loop by hand, but treat that as a one-time adjustment rather than a habit. Nousaku's own guidance for its tin tableware says bending the same point repeatedly can crack it, and a stretched piece will not spring back to its original shape. Full material care lives on our tin guide; the note here is specific to a vase rather than a cup or a plate. Each Nousaku vase listing carries no separate care note of its own, so hand washing and drying it after use is the safe default. Each one comes packed in a Nousaku paper gift box. Kutani ware's small vase is porcelain, hand painted with a single colour or pattern per piece, so expect small differences between individual pieces. Its own listings carry no separate care note either, so hand washing is again the safer choice. It ships in a signature Kutani paper gift box. Tin gives a warm, cast metal finish that takes a gentle curve. Porcelain gives a painted colour that will never change shape.

What sizes are on the shelf?

Kutani's small vase measures 58 mm across and 58 mm tall on the black, camellia yellow, cherry blossom green and temari white listings, so it sits comfortably on a narrow shelf or a desk corner. Among the Nousaku vases, only Hoop Maru's own listing gives a dimension: 50 mm across and 150 mm tall. Hoop Takaku is described on its own listing as the tall version of that same hoop shape, without a further figure attached. The three Lasso vases are described by shape rather than a measurement. Lasso Kaku carries the lasso silhouette. Lasso Maru is called the rounded version of it. Lasso Takaku is the tall version, standing at its most vertical. Suzu Icicle Cracked Ice is described as a cone built to hang on the wall rather than stand. Where a listing does not publish a size, we have not guessed one here; check the product page's own measurement before you order if the exact fit matters.

Where does this connect on our shelves?

For Nousaku's foundry history and its wider tin, brass and bronze work, see our Nousaku maker page. For the material itself, including full care and why pure tin bends, see our tin guide. For Kutani ware's own history and the other pieces we carry in it, see our Kutani kiln page. For the porcelain body behind it, see our porcelain guide. Nousaku also casts the small tin objects on our incense holder page, a good next stop if you are furnishing the same shelf as a vase.

Quick answers

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

What is an ichirin-zashi? An ichirin-zashi is a small vase built for a single stem; the Japanese Wikipedia entry on the vase describes smaller vases as earning that name.

Do you stock a brass vase? Not currently. Every vase we list from Nousaku is cast in pure tin, and Nousaku's own history covers brass and bronze work more broadly rather than the vases on our shelf today.

How big is the Kutani small vase? 58 mm across and 58 mm tall, confirmed on the black, camellia yellow, cherry blossom green and temari white listings.

How big is the Nousaku Hoop Maru vase? 50 mm across and 150 mm tall, per its own listing; the other Nousaku vases do not publish a figure.

Can you bend a Nousaku tin vase into a new shape? A single gentle adjustment is fine. Nousaku's own guidance says pure tin can be bent by hand, but bending the same point repeatedly risks a crack, and the metal will not spring back to its first shape.

Is the cherry blossom green Kutani vase in stock? Not right now. Its own listing currently shows no way to add it to a cart, while the black, camellia yellow and temari white colourways are open for order.