Arita Imari Wisteria Coffee Cup & Saucer (Sehei-gama, Ko-Imari, 160 ml)

A hand-painted Arita-yaki / Hasami-yaki coffee cup and saucer set in the classic 古伊万里 (Ko-Imari) cartouche tradition, made by Sehei-gama (瀬兵窯) in Saga Prefecture. Four alternating panels move around the cup body — two vermillion-red overglaze enamel (akae 赤絵) ground panels carrying white scrolled leaves and gold tracery, alternating with two white reserves painted with the named motif: cascading purple-lavender wisteria (藤 fuji) joined by sakura (cherry blossom) and small yellow chrysanthemum-like florets on a green flowering branch. The 6-lobe scalloped (rinka 輪花) rim is finished with a cobalt sometsuke band of stylised wave-cloud scrollwork and small gold-outlined (kinsai 金彩) daisy roundels, with a hair-line gold trim along the lip. The cup stands on a tall pedestal (高台 kōdai) foot decorated with cobalt seigaiha 青海波 wave fill. The matching saucer carries the same composition in radial bands.

The motif — Wisteria (藤 / Fuji)

Wisteria has been a central late-spring / early-summer auspicious motif in Japanese decorative arts since the Heian period. Its long, cascading flower clusters symbolise longevity, gentleness, and the renewal of the seasonal cycle; the plant became historically associated with the Fujiwara (藤原, “wisteria field”) noble lineage. Joined here by sakura — the cherry blossom that opens the season — and yellow chrysanthemum-like florets, the painted reserve panels form a multi-flower bouquet across the cup body and saucer.

Why this is Ko-Imari (古伊万里)

“Imari” refers to the port through which Arita-yaki porcelain was historically shipped abroad. By the early Edo period, the term came to describe a recognisable decorative grammar: alternating panels of saturated overglaze red and white sometsuke reserves, often finished with gold for high-tier pieces. This set follows that grammar — red akae 赤絵 + cobalt sometsuke 染付 + green / yellow / aubergine enamels + overglaze gold 金彩 kinsai trim — placing it firmly in the Ko-Imari tradition that informed European chinoiserie tableware for two centuries.

At the table

• Espresso, ristretto, or short coffee (~160 mL sits between demitasse and a full coffee mug — petite, restrained)
• Japanese tea — sencha, hojicha, gyokuro — held by the handle without burning fingers
• Wagashi or small fruit dessert plated on the saucer
• Display piece on an open shelf — pair with cobalt-blue stacking ware for a Ko-Imari corner