Kutani Yunomi — Hidamari Sunshine Rabbits, Iroe Yū Workshop

Hand-painted Kutani-yaki yunomi (Japanese tea cup) from the workshop's 陽だまり (Hidamari / "Sunny Spot") series — two paired rabbits, one in warm amber iroe overglaze and one rendered in negative-space white slip, sit beneath a soft yellow sun disk between drooping seasonal blossoms, all on a wabi-sabi gray-speckled stoneware body. The half-circumference white-slip reserve forms the canvas for the hand-painted scene; the un-decorated half carries the workshop's signature mottled gray-glaze body with fine iron-oxide fleck — a contemporary Kutani aesthetic that pairs classical 色絵 (iroe / overglaze polychrome enamel) painting with a modern wabi-sabi clay-surface treatment.

📐 At a glance

• Workshop: 色絵工房 遊 (Iroe Kōbō Yū / "Color-Painting Workshop Yū"), Ishikawa Prefecture
• Distributor: 加賀商会 (Kaga Shōkai), Ishikawa
• Series: 陽だまり (Hidamari / "Sunny Spot") — the workshop's animals-in-blooms warm-palette line
• Ware tradition: 九谷焼 (Kutani-yaki) — Designated Traditional Craft of Japan (1975)
• Material: Stoneware (陶器 / tōki) — buff/cream-firing clay body, gray wabi-sabi glaze with iron-fleck speckle
• Decoration: 色絵 (iroe / overglaze polychrome enamel) + 白化粧土 (white-slip reserve panel) + hand-painted (手描)
• Form: 湯呑 (yunomi / Japanese tea cup) — daily-use form, slightly waisted body, gently irregular hand-thrown rim
• Dimensions: ~8.5 cm diameter × ~8 cm height (~3.3" × ~3.1")
• Capacity: ~180–220 mL estimated (~6–7.5 fl oz) — supplier did not publish a fixed mL figure; final per-piece capacity confirmed on first-unit measurement
• Mark: Red 遊 workshop kanji seal on cup foot underside
• Packaging: Dark-blue Kutani art box stamped 高級伝統美術 九谷焼 ("High-grade Traditional Art Kutani-yaki") + included multi-fold heritage brochure showing four classical Kutani styles (古九谷・木米・飯田屋・吉田屋) with full-color reference plates
• Made by Iroe Yū / Kaga Shōkai / Kutani-yaki in Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan, curated by ZenKiln
• Ships in 1–3 business days (ZK own-stock ready-to-ship)

☀️ What "Hidamari" means

The series name 陽だまり (Hidamari) names the warm pool of light a small animal might seek out on a clear day — a sunny spot to sit, doze, share company. The workshop carries that warmth into a pair of small companion rabbits, one painted in glowing amber overglaze and one left to the white slip, framed by drooping seasonal blossoms and a small sun disk overhead. The reading is gentle and seasonally elastic — equally at home as a spring scene (wisteria and mimosa, midday sun) or as a quieter early-autumn moment (bush clover and ominaeshi, low afternoon light). The Iroe Yū workshop renders the same Hidamari frame around cats in their other lines; the rabbit pairing here is the workshop's signature small-companion warmth.

🍵 Use

• Daily green tea (sencha, hojicha, bancha) — yunomi capacity is sized for everyday tea, not formal matcha
• Quiet office or studio cup — desk-side warmth without the formality of a chawan
• Curio piece — the iroe + wabi-sabi pairing reads as a contemporary collector cup, not only as drinkware
• Pairs naturally with a cast-iron tetsubin or a small kyusu teapot

🎁 Gifting

The dark-blue Kutani art box plus included heritage brochure make this a gift-ready piece — well-suited for wedding gifts, housewarming, anniversaries, client thank-yous, tea-lover birthdays, and Father's Day. The brochure introduces four classical Kutani decorative styles (古九谷 / 木米 / 飯田屋 / 吉田屋) and gives the recipient a way to place the piece in the wider Kutani tradition.

🧼 Care

• Hand-wash only with mild soap and a soft sponge; rinse and dry gently
• Avoid the dishwasher — high-heat cycles can lift the 色絵 overglaze enamel pigments over time
• Avoid the microwave — sudden temperature swings can craze the wabi-sabi gray glaze
• Avoid sudden cold-to-hot pours (frozen tea straight into the cup); warm the cup first with room-temperature water if filling with very hot liquid

📌 Reference Conversions

• 8.5 cm ≈ 3.3 inches
• 8.0 cm ≈ 3.1 inches
• 陽だまり (hidamari) ≈ "a warm patch of sunlight"
• 湯呑 (yunomi) ≈ "Japanese daily tea cup"
• 双兎 (sōto) ≈ "a pair of rabbits"

About ZenKiln — 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.

📦 Ships from Japan, hand-packed for safe delivery.