A Shonzui Cup from Kyoto
Since the sixteenth century, Kyoto ware has developed alongside Japan’s tea ceremony, and shonzui—with its intricate blue patterning framing painted landscapes—remains one of its most admired decorative traditions. This lidded cup carries that heritage through woven blue borders and hand-painted sansui scenes, created in Kyoto by a certified traditional craftsman.
Born of Kyoto’s Heritage: This piece too is authentic Kyo-yaki pottery, handcrafted using time-honored techniques and refined by centuries of Japanese artistry.
Learn more → The Art and Technique of Kyoto Ware
Reaching Inside the Cup
Broken across its body, the cup was restored over four months by Keiko Hata, a lacquer artist with a Master’s degree in Lacquer Arts from Kyoto City University of Arts whose urushi practice also includes the conservation of Buddhist sculpture. Working with food-safe natural urushi, she carefully reunited the vessel, reaching deep inside with a fine maki-e brush where a standard brush could not reach. Genuine 24K gold powder was then sprinkled over the restored seams and finished through roiro, the highest grade of urushi finishing. This brings out the gold, giving it a smooth, deep glow that only a carefully finished urushi surface can achieve. The lines pass through the shonzui panels, descend into the cup, and meet near its center—a course that belongs to this vessel alone.
Where Blue Lines Gather
This cup brings together two living Japanese traditions: Kyoto’s heritage of shonzui painting and the enduring craft of authentic kintsugi in natural urushi. Its fracture is no longer concealed; gold now moves through the blue panels as a new part of the composition, following a route no other cup could repeat. With the final sip of tea, those lines come together quietly within. To bring this cup into your collection is to become the next custodian of both traditions, and of the story they continue to carry forward.
