Bamboo cup - wiped lacquer, natural finish

At a glance

- Bamboo craft (竹工芸), Kyoto; by Takanochikko, third-generation workshop, own bamboo grove
- Fuki-urushi (拭き漆) wiped lacquer, natural finish; bamboo grain and nodes remain visible
- 7cm wide, 7cm tall; suits tea, water or sake

Drinking from bamboo is unlike drinking from ceramic, glass, or wood. It is lighter than any of them, and there is a particular coolness to the material that stays present even with a warm drink inside.

These cups are made by Takanochikko (高野竹工) in Nagaokakyō, Kyoto, a third-generation workshop that cultivates its own grove of Kitayama mountain bamboo, raised for four years before harvest. This direct control over the raw material is unusual and shapes the quality of what follows: culms are steamed, split and shaped, then turned on a lathe until the walls are thin and even. The finish is fuki-urushi (拭き漆), wiped lacquer applied in translucent layers that seal and strengthen the surface whilst keeping the natural bamboo colour, grain and nodes fully visible. Kyoto's bamboo craft tradition is closely tied to its tea ceremony culture, dating to the fourteenth century. These cups carry that lineage without requiring ceremony to use them.