Fuji tin tumbler

At a glance

- Osaka Naniwa Suzuki (大阪浪華錫器), METI-designated traditional craft
- By Osaka Suzuki, led by Tatsumasa Imai, nationally recognised Contemporary Master Craftsman (2012)
- Tumbler body shaped as Mt. Fuji; each colour represents a different aspect of the mountain
- 7.8cm wide, 8cm tall; available in white, black, blue and yellow

This tumbler is Mt. Fuji. Not a picture of it, not a print on the side, the form itself is the mountain, shaped in tin so that when you turn it upside down the silhouette is unmistakable: the broad base, the rising slopes, the peaked summit. Right-side up, it is a weighted, well-balanced drinking cup with a polished rim and a hand-hammered tsuiki (鎚目) interior that creates a fine foam when pouring beer.

Made by Osaka Suzuki (大阪錫器) in the Osaka Naniwa Suzuki (大阪浪華錫器) tradition, a METI-designated craft, each tumbler is cast from pure tin, lathe-turned to thin the walls, then hand-lacquered in one of four colours. White evokes the snow-capped peak; black the mountain cloaked in shadow; blue the clear sky above; yellow the warm light of sunrise. Each colourway is a different reading of the same mountain. Tin conducts cold exceptionally well, mellows sake and softens water, the qualities that have made tinware central to Japanese drinking culture for centuries.

A piece that works as everyday drinkware and as an object worth looking at.