Kutani Cat Mug 230ml | Iroe Yu Hidamari Cuddling Cats

A quiet, slow-morning mug. Two cats — one white silhouette, one dark sienna — sit back-to-back in a sunlit patch of garden, surrounded by hand-painted forget-me-nots, wildflowers, and tiny fluttering butterflies. Made in Ishikawa Prefecture by the Kutani-ware workshop Iroe Yu (色絵 遊), from their beloved 陽だまり ("Hidamari" — Sunny Spot) series.

Quick facts

What "Hidamari" means

陽だまり / Hidamari translates as "sunny spot" — the warm patch of afternoon sunlight where a cat will curl up and nap. Iroe Yu's Hidamari series renders that scene without features on the cats — pure silhouette — so the viewer can project their own pets onto the mug. The two cats here are sitting back-to-back, each one a different color, sharing the same sunbeam.

What's hand-painted on this mug

1. Two cuddling cats sitting back-to-back: one white silhouette + one dark sienna silhouette
2. Forget-me-not cluster (blue 5-petal flowers with yellow centers) on a branching stem above the cats
3. Wildflower stems with pink, magenta, yellow, and blue dot-flowers along the left side
4. Green leaves on each wildflower stem
5. Two small butterflies — one yellow, one white-and-yellow
6. Hand-drawn whiskers and tails on each cat
7. Speckled white kohiki (粉引) glaze upper field — the iron freckles read as garden ground texture
8. Granular grey-brown stoneware lower field — reads as a hill silhouette
9. Brown speckled handle
10. Speckled dark grey interior (contrast to white outside)
11. Unglazed exposed clay foot ring
12. Red square workshop stamp on the foot — the Iroe Yu signature

About Kutani ware

Kutani ware (九谷焼) is one of Japan's most decorated porcelain traditions, originating in Ishikawa Prefecture. Classic Kutani is known for bright overglaze enamels (the "Kutani Five Colors"). Iroe Yu (色絵 遊 — literally "color-painting Yu") is a contemporary Kutani workshop that reinterprets the tradition in a quieter, more domestic register: stoneware-textured bodies, kohiki-speckle glazes, and hand-painted scenes that feel like illustrations from a children's book rather than formal banquet ware.

Use cases

• Single-cup coffee, latte, tea, or matcha — 230 mL is a comfortable daily portion
• Hand-friendly loop handle, balanced weight
• Daily use, not a display-only piece

FAQ

Is this microwave / dishwasher safe? The maker does not state this. Treat as hand-wash hand-painted ware.

What does Hidamari mean? 陽だまり — the warm patch of afternoon sunlight where a cat will nap.

Why don't the cats have faces? Iroe Yu's deliberate compositional choice — the cats are pure silhouette so viewers can project their own pets onto the mug.

Are the two cats always white + sienna? Yes — every mug in this SKU has the same color pairing. Slight brushwork variation between mugs is expected.

About ZenKiln

ZenKiln is a Japan-based curator connecting international collectors with Japan's artisan ceramic tradition. We work closely with the kilns, workshops, and makers featured in our shop — each one disclosed in our About section — and hand-pack every piece in Japan for safe delivery worldwide.