Flared Japanese mug, blue flowers and stems

Flowering stems running all over the mug, on a background sprinkled with tiny blue dots.

The decoration reads like a winding branch: fine dark blue stems carry slender leaves and small bud-shaped flowers, almost heart-shaped. Between them, the white background is speckled with blue dots, giving the decoration a light texture, a little like a printed fabric.

This type of decoration recalls karakusa, the plant scrolls found for centuries on Japanese tableware and textiles: stems that stretch out and answer each other, with no beginning and no end.

The mug is flared, with a wide-open rim and a brown clay foot left unglazed. The inside is light grey, and a brown line edges the rim. The handle, in light grey, keeps a simple rounded shape.

Only the moulding is mechanical; the finishing is done by hand, and the decoration is applied with transfer paper. Each mug may therefore show small differences in the joins.

A mug with a light look, for tea breaks as well as morning coffee. Made in Japan, in the Mino region.

Highlights

• Flowering scrolls: stems, leaves and small flowers winding all around.
• Dotted background: tiny blue dots that add texture.
• Karakusa spirit: a plant decoration rooted in Japanese tradition.
• Flared shape: a wide-open rim on a brown clay foot.
• Natural variations: small differences in the joins from one mug to another.

Product information

• Type: mug with handle
• Material: ceramic
• Origin: made in Japan (Toki-Tajimi area, Gifu Prefecture, home of Mino ware)
• Dimensions: Ø 8.5 cm, height 8.8 cm
• Shape: flared, unglazed foot
• Colours: indigo blue and white, light grey inside, brown foot
• Pattern: flowering scrolls on a dotted background
• Finish: glazed, brown line on the rim
• Presentation: sold individually
• Style: traditional Japanese, botanical

How to use

Perfect for green tea, herbal tea or coffee, it brings a botanical note to the breakfast table. It can be mixed with other floral mugs from the collection.

To keep its decoration, preferably wash it by hand and avoid the dishwasher. It can go in the microwave.

Frequently asked questions

What is a scroll decoration?

Stems and foliage that wind and continue over the whole surface. In Japan, this type of plant decoration is called karakusa.

Do all the mugs have exactly the same decoration?

The pattern is the same, but as it is applied by hand, the joins and the position of the flowers vary a little from piece to piece.