- Origin: Made in Japan
- Material: High-quality, durable ceramic
- Best For: Daily matcha preparation and tea lovers
- Care: Hand wash recommended
The Making of the Sakura no Yukihara Bowl
In the hills of Gifu Prefecture, in a region called Tono, potters have been coaxing bowls out of clay for over 1,300 years. This is Mino country — a craft recognized by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, with fifteen distinct styles all born from the same clay-rich earth.
Your bowl begins on the wheel. The potter shapes the wet clay by hand — one of several traditional methods used in Minoyaki work, from coiling to slab-building — before setting it aside to dry slowly in the shade, never rushed, never in direct sun. A fast dry cracks the clay; patience is the first ingredient.
Once dry, the bowl goes into the kiln for its first firing — a bisque fire, hot enough to harden the body and open its pores just enough to drink in glaze later.
Then comes the moment that gives this bowl its name. "Sakura no Yukihara" — cherry blossoms on a snowfield — describes the glaze itself: a pale, snow-pink wash over the stoneware, dappled and uneven the way real petals scatter on frost. The glaze is ladled or dipped by hand, never sprayed evenly, so no two bowls come out quite the same.
The final firing runs at 1,230–1,250°C, hot enough to fuse glaze to clay permanently. Inside the kiln, the pink softens and deepens unpredictably — some bowls turn blush, others rust-toned at the rim, like the one in your photos where the glaze breaks to a warm amber edge. That variation isn't a flaw. It's the kiln's signature, and it's why Minoyaki potters have always said the fire is a collaborator, not just a tool.
What arrives in your hands is a small, weighted bowl built for whisking matcha — rough enough at the base to grip, smooth enough at the rim to drink from — carrying a bit of Gifu's hills in every cup.
Sakura no Yukihara Matcha Bowl — Minoyaki, Made in Japan
Handcrafted in the Tono hills of Gifu, Japan's oldest pottery region (1,300+ years of history), this matcha bowl carries the name "Sakura no Yukihara" — cherry blossoms on a snowfield. Each bowl is hand-shaped on the wheel, dried slowly in the shade, and hand-glazed with a soft pink wash before its final firing at 1,230–1,250°C. No two bowls turn out quite the same — the glaze breaks and deepens unpredictably in the kiln, giving each piece its own blush and amber tones. Weighted for whisking, textured at the base for grip, smooth at the rim for drinking.
Φ12.4cm × H7.2cm · Ceramic · Made in Mino, Japan