Stories

Edo Kiriko is hand-cut glass from Tokyo: a colour skin under 1mm thick is laid over clear glass, then ground away on spinning wheels so the pattern reads as bright clear lines through the colour.

Satsuma Kiriko is Kagoshima cut glass made by fusing a 1-5mm layer of colour over clear crystal and cutting through it so the colour fades into the clear in a gradation called bokashi.

Kagami Crystal is a Tokyo-founded crystal house started in 1934 by Kozo Kagami as Japan's first factory built only for crystal; it now cuts Edo Kiriko at its own plant in Ryugasaki, Ibaraki.

Nippon Kodo is the Tokyo incense maker we stock the most of, 45 items, with roots over 400 years old and a formal founding in 1965.

Banko ware is pottery from Yokkaichi, Mie, made with a petalite-rich clay that resists cracking under direct flame, which is why most Japanese donabe hot pots are made from it.

Mino ware is pottery from the Tono area of Gifu, Toki, Tajimi, Mizunami, Kani, and it names a place, not one style: Oribe, Shino, Ki-Seto and Setoguro all come from it.

Sake cups split by shape and formality: ochoko and guinomi are for drinking, sakazuki is the ceremonial dish, masu is the wooden measuring box, and tokkuri is the flask you pour from.

Light the tip until it flames, blow it out so it glows, then set it in a matching holder in a still spot away from curtains and never leave it unattended.

Light binchotan slowly in a chimney starter over a flame, outdoors only, and put it out in a lidded hikeshi-tsubo rather than with water, which also cracks a diatomite konro.

Season a new donabe once before you cook in it: simmer a thin rice porridge until it thickens, let it cool in the pot for an hour, then rinse and dry it upside down.

Wash cut glass by hand in lukewarm water with neutral detergent, work the cut faces with a soft brush, never use a dishwasher, and wipe it dry with a cloth before it air-dries.

Kakumei is a homeware shop in Braddon, ACT, the sister store of Knives & Stones, run by the same owner who imports directly from Japan and travels there in person to choose everything on the shelf.