Kutani Ware Mug, Leaping Rabbit

At a glance

- Kutani yaki (九谷焼) porcelain, Kitano Toujudou / Toulife, Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture; gosu outline and thick five colour overglaze, over 360 years of Kutani technique
- White rabbits run beneath a full gold moon among reeds and grasses, on a deep, mottled ground; tied to tsukimi, Japan's autumn moon watching tradition
- Approx. 8 x 8cm; hand wash recommended

In Japan, the full moon is watched for rather than simply noticed, especially at tsukimi, the autumn moon viewing festival, when families set out round dumplings and admire the harvest moon. Rabbits are woven into that same tradition: Japanese folklore places a rabbit on the moon itself, forever pounding rice cakes beneath it. On this mug the story is told in full: several white rabbits run mid leap through reeds and grass, a single gold moon overhead, all set against a deep, mottled ground dark enough to read as the night sky itself.

The piece is decorated in Kutani's traditional way, a fine cobalt gosu line for the drawing, followed by thick, glossy overglaze enamel in the classic five colours, red, yellow, green, purple and deep blue, a technique that has defined the craft for over 360 years.

This is sold through Toulife, the retail arm of Kitano Toujudou, a Kutani specialist in Nomi City, Ishikawa, trading since 1972 and working with well over a hundred artisans and kilns across the region.

At 8 x 8cm, it holds a proper mug's worth of coffee or tea, and pairs naturally with the matching yunomi teacup and oval plate if the whole scene appeals.