Yoh-ichi Yoh-ko Yajiima pastel color mugs, cups and bowls

Spring has finally come to Japan and cherry blossom season is only in few days away! Although this winter was relatively mild, it was still cold and I personally prefer summer over winter, so I had been looking forward to enjoying this nice weather! It is sometimes rather hard to explain this but he is…

Matcha tea bamboo whisk – Chasen

 They say 95% of made in Japan matcha tea whisk, which is called chasen (茶筅）is made in Takayama of Ikoma city in Nara prefecture and they say there are about 20 craftsmen making these whisks.  The proper made in Japan bamboo whisks are made with those bamboo which is dried slowly for over 10 years…

The sounds of Japanese orin brass bells

Orin is a Japanese brass bell, which is often used for Buddhist rituals and ceremonies, typically during sutra reading, the priest will sound the orin bell at the beginning to align their voice’s pitch with the bell’s tone. During the service, the bells serve different purposes, such as improving the practitioners’ focus and concentration or calming their…

Turquoise blue plates and bowls by Yoh-ichi Yajima

Summer in Japan, as you may know, is really hot and humid, but I personally love the summer here in Tokyo, because there are so many things which you can enjoy only in summer like going to swim in the pool or beach and go hiking in the mountain, each shaved ice called Kakigoh-ri etc….

Antique kimono fabric gamaguchi bags, coin purses, card cases etc by Yoshitsune Yanagida 栁田義経

You can recently purchase cheap imported kimonos in Japan, but traditionally woven made in Japan kimono can be very expensive. We nowadays rarely wear kimono on everyday bases and those people who wear kimono daily have been very limited. Our ancestors taught us not to waste any kimono when it is no longer used by…

Japanese samurai armour and sword shape chopstick rest set

　There are numerous variations of chopstick rests in Japan and many people collect them as a part of their hobby, but at restaurants they actually use them for serving foods, especially when the restaurants serve Kaiseki style meals (Kaiseki is a multi-course Japanese dinner which generally consists of 8 or so courses and they serve…

Shimpei Zaiman 財満晋平 pottery

You can also check the latest new arrivals on our Instagram . Please follow, if you are interested. Shimpei Zaiman (財満晋平) graduated from a University in Okinawa in 2005 and he moved to Aichi prefecture in 2006 to study pottery further. He, then, moved to Hiroshima prefecture to establish his own workshop in 2008 and…

New Bizen pottery glass, bowl and plate by Kazuto Oh-e

I have already talked about the Bizen pottery in my article from the past, so if you are interested in the details of what Bizen pottery are, please visited this . There are many bizen pottery craftsmen in Japan, but I personally like and support Mr. Kazuto Oh-e (大江一人）, so we carry those bizen potteries…

Kaori Walsh – Japanese modern pottery

Ms. Kaori Walsh lives in Tokyo, but she has been making her products in Mie prefecture, where she studied pottery. It has already been over 7 years since I first introduced her works at my store and her works have gradually been getting more popular these days. She visited my store few weeks ago to…

Daikokuten 大黒様 and Ebisu 恵比寿様 roof tile objects

Daikokuten (大黒様) is a syncretic Japanese deity of fortune and wealth, and Ebisu (恵比寿） the Japanese god of fishermen and luck. Both god figures have often been found in various entities like Shinto shrines and many Japanese people like these figures. The size is about 24cm tall and they are made by Japanese roof tile (which…

Oni-daruma and cloud kawara

Oni, which means ogre, has been known for keeping away evil spirits and daruma is a symbol of bringing happiness to you. These two symbols are usually two different entities, but the oni-daruma is a unified version of these two. The size is W10 x D10 x H11cm and the price is 8,000yen excluding tax…

Bowls and vases by Yoh-ichi Yajima

Mr. Yajima was born as a male, but he now dresses with female clothes, but he also has a female partner to spend his life with. The reason why I like his works is he has continuously been trying new methods of pottery and his creations are often very beautiful and stylish. He doesn’t live…