Shidei Banko will quickly develop a patina and become more glossy with use. It is natural that fingerprints will stand out on the unglazed surface in the first few months but these will begin to subside as the surface starts to develop a deep lustre – so please enjoy how the Shidei transforms in your hands! When cleaning, use warm water and a soft cloth or sponge, using a light washing-up liquid when necessary, then leave to air dry naturally. Do not put in the dishwasher, microwave or oven.
Teacup Pair
Banko
Suigetsu
SKU
4862
- -10%
Yoshi En has recently grown out of Sunday Natural to become an independent premium tea store. As part of this transition, some products may still be shipped in Sunday Natural packaging.
A robust pair of purple-brown Shidei Banko Yunomi decorated using a special sandblasting technique. These his and hers teacups come protected in a traditional wooden box and are perfect as wedding gifts. Glazed on the inside, they are suitable for everyday drinking of all kinds of tea.
| Product | Teacup pair set, purple-brown |
| Ceramic Style | Banko-yaki |
| Origin | Yokkaichi, Mie, Japan |
| Studio | Suigetsu Touen 醉月陶苑 |
| Volume | 210ml, 240ml |
| Dimensions | Ø6.7 x 8.2cm, Ø7 x 9cm |
| Weight | 148g, 178g |
| Material | Purple clay (Shidei 紫泥) |
| Glaze | Milky white glaze on the inside |
| Decoration | Sandblasted waves |
| Artist's mark | Studio stamp on base |
| Packaging | Wooden box (Kiribako) |
Each piece is handmade and unique, therefore size and finish may vary slightly
In stock
Suigetsu 醉月
The Suigetsu kiln was founded in 1900 after Kousaburo “Suigetsu” Shimizu (1869-1930) retired as a postmaster and started making wood moulded Kata-Banko. Today, third generation Suigetsu Shimizu heads up the family kiln together with his wife Kishiyo and his sons Jun and Ushio. While maintaining traditional Banko-yaki techniques, the decorative sandblasting method is unique to Suigetsu III, where sand is used to carve stripes and motifs into the surface of the ceramics after baking, resulting in a variety of colours depending on the depths of the cuts.
Meoto Yunomi 夫婦 湯のみ
Popular wedding gifts, Meoto or “husband and wife” Yunomi are a pair of matching Japanese teacups where one is often smaller that the other and/or has a different colour scheme of the same design. The tall, cylindrical Yunomi is typically made of ceramic and without a handle, ideal for daily, casual drinking of all types of tea (with the exception of matcha, which is best served in a Chawan tea bowl). Please use both hands when drinking from a Yunomi: one hand around the cup to hold it, and the other underneath to support. Since Japanese teas are served at temperatures below 80°C (175°F), the Yunomi should not be too hot to handle, and will provide extra warmth to the hands during the colder months. For this reason, Japanese teas that are served at higher temperatures, such as Hojicha, Genmaicha, and Bancha are particularly recommended for Yunomi.
Banko-yaki 萬古焼
Merchant and passionate Chajin (茶人 “tea person”), Nunami Rozan, is credited as the founding father of Banko-yaki. Back in the 18th century he opened a kiln in what is now Asahi-machi, Mie prefecture, stamping his wares with 萬古不易 – banko-fueki: “eternally unchanging” – in the hope that his ceramics would be passed down across generations forever. Today Banko-yaki is still produced in the Mie prefecture, primarily in the city of Yokkaichi, and is a protected traditional craft of Japan. Synonymous with Banko is the local, iron-rich Shidei "purple clay" which when baked in a high-temperature reduction furnace becomes very heat resistant and turns the characteristic deep violet-brown of Banko-yaki with an almost metallic sheen. It is said that the tannins in green tea react with the iron in unglazed Shidei teaware to soften the astringency of the tea, highlighting its sweetness; therefore umami-rich teas such as Sencha, Kabusecha and Gyokuro come highly recommended when using Banko.
