Hagi Ware Sake Set, Carafe and Two Cups

Name: Hagi Ware Sake Set, Carafe and Two Cups
Brand: Tsubakishu Kiln 椿秀窯
SKU: CUG-CER-HAG-OEX-001-
Price: 32.00 GBP
Availability: InStock

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Material: Ceramic
Hagi-萩焼

Dimensions:

Dishwasher ✓ If using a dishwasher, keep pieces from touching other items, as Hagi ware is a soft, delicate stoneware and can chip on contact.

Microwave ✓

Wash with dish soap before first use. Soak in water before use so the piece absorbs moisture, reducing future staining. Avoid leaving acidic, oily, or strong flavoured foods or drinks sitting in it for extended periods, as this can cause staining, odour, or a sticky residue in the crackle. Microwave safe for general home use, excluding any accessories; residue can sometimes lodge in the crackle depending on the food type. Dry thoroughly before storing; incomplete drying can lead to mould.

The unglazed foot is deliberate, showing the raw clay; if it feels rough, it can be smoothed with sandpaper or a whetstone. Use a mat underneath on delicate surfaces.

At a glance

- Hagi yaki (萩焼), Tsubakishu Kiln, Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture; a craft founded in the Keicho era (1596 to 1615)
- Hagi ware is famous for nanabake (七化け), the seven changes: its fine glaze crackle, kannyu (貫入), slowly shifts colour and character over years of use, so no two cups age the same way
- Tokkuri (徳利) carafe, approx. 8cm dia. x 12cm high, 300ml; two cups, approx. 5.5cm dia. x 5cm high, 70ml each; soft lavender to cream drip glaze; presented in a gift box

A pouring carafe and two cups rather than a single vessel, all three finished in the same soft, drifting glaze, lavender fading into cream, no two pieces landing quite the same way. It is a genuine sake service, not a lone cup dressed up for a gift box.

This comes from Hagi Toen's Tsubakishu Kiln, in Hagi City, Yamaguchi Prefecture, continuing a craft that began in the Keicho era, roughly 1596 to 1615, when two Korean potter brothers, Ri Shakko and Ri Kei, opened a kiln as the official kiln of the Mori domain, producing Korai style tea ware. Tea practitioners have ranked it for centuries in a well known saying, ichi Raku, ni Hagi, san Karatsu, first Raku, second Hagi, third Karatsu, placing Hagi second only to Japan's most revered tea ceramic.

Hagi ware carries a reputation serious drinkers take seriously: its soft glaze develops a network of fine crackle, kannyu (貫入), and with use, sake gradually works its way in and shifts the colour and character of the piece, a transformation known as nanabake (七化け), the seven changes. A well used set is genuinely never quite the one it started as, each pour leaving a little more of itself behind.

Presented together in its own gift box, it suits a quiet evening for two as easily as a considered gift for someone who already knows their sake.