Kasama-yaki Cup

Unlike most other firing methods, the kiln of artisan Masami Taniguchi smokes the cups, which leads to the amazing blueish and rough finish. Each cup is one of a kind because the outcome is unpredictable. Prime fired porcelain cups are imported from Hasami, and a few layers of a special glaze is applied on them.

As his speciality, Masami Taniguchi fires the cups in a kiln that was formally used for roof tiles. These Hasami cups are made in Hasami, Nagasaki, Japan.

Asemi Co is a Japanese brand that was created by Yuki & Lars, designers and longtime friends. Always fascinated by traditional craftsmanship, they came together in 2015 to launch Asemi Co. Their mission is to preserve traditional local Japanese craftsmanship by combining various handicrafts with contemporary design. The resulting products thus offer a fusion of contemporary design and know-how. They selected many craftsmen from all over Japan to give the Asemi cup a local identity in each Japanese region. Asemi Co. mugs come in two sizes. They may look different at first glance, but they all have the same basic design, which allows them to be combined and stacked no matter what style of pottery they were made with. Shigaraki-yaki is pottery made in Shiga Prefecture. It dates back to the Tenpyo era, when roofing tiles were made for a castle in 742. Although nowadays many people associate Shigaraki-yaki with Tanuki (Japanese raccoon dog) statues, it has a long history of producing tea ware, large jars and pots.  Shigaraki-yaki is one of Japan’s Six Ancient Kilns. Together with Bizen, Tamba, Echizen, Seto, and Tokoname, it is considered to be one of the most important historical Japanese pottery production areas. The Asemi Co. Shigaraki-yaki cups are made by the artisan Daiki Okuda.