Tabata Shigemichi Mino-Yaki Double-Wall Rock Cup — Bordeaux & Black Luster Stoneware (300ml, Kiribako)

🍷 Tabata Shigemichi (田端繁道) — Mino-Yaki Double-Wall Rock Cup, Bordeaux Glaze

A double-wall hollow-insulated Japanese rock cup, hand-crafted by 田端繁道 (Tabata Shigemichi), 2nd-generation master of 金昇窯 (Kinshō-gama / “Golden Rising Kiln”) in Toki city, Gifu Prefecture — the heart of Japan’s Mino-yaki ceramic tradition. The deep Bordeaux overglaze (辰砂釉 shinsha-yū / cinnabar-red) is finished with a fine iron-fleck speckle and a subtle iridescent shimmer in certain light angles; the interior is fully sealed in glossy black overglaze. The engineered 二層構造 (nisō-kōzō / double-wall) air-gap cavity keeps cold drinks cold and warm drinks warm longer than a single-wall cup, and reduces the external condensation that would otherwise wet your hand or your table.

📐 At a glance

• Form: Rock cup (ロックカップ) — Japanese double-wall tumbler form, no handle
• Size: φ9.0 cm (3.5″) rim × 9.5 cm (3.7″) height
• Capacity: 300 mL (~10.1 fl oz / ~1.27 US cups)
• Weight: 380 g (~13.4 oz) per cup
• Material: Stoneware (陶器 tōki), Mino-yaki lineage — hand-crafted (手造り), not slip-cast
• Construction: 二層構造 (double-wall hollow-insulation cavity between inner and outer walls)
• Exterior glaze: 辰砂釉 (shinsha-yū) Bordeaux/burgundy red with fine iron-fleck speckle + subtle iridescent shimmer
• Interior glaze: 黒釉 (kuro-yū) glossy black, fully food-sealed
• Foot: cream/buff Mino-clay body exposed at the unglazed foot ring
• Brand line: 清風 (Seifu) — “Seifu japan style — Produced by mino”
• Made by Tabata Shigemichi / Kinshō-gama / Awasaka in Gifu Prefecture, Japan, curated by ZenKiln
• Gift box: 桐箱 (paulownia kiribako, 115×115×125 mm) — the traditional Japanese gift-presentation box (used for tea-ceremony pieces, named-artist work, and formal gifts)
• Included: Cup + paulownia kiribako + artist biography card + Japanese care card

🎨 The artist — Tabata Shigemichi (田端繁道)

Tabata Shigemichi was born in 1959 in Toki city, Gifu Prefecture — the center of Japan’s Mino-yaki tradition. His father, 金也 (Kin’ya / Kinya), founded 金昇窯 (Kinshō-gama) in 1955. Shigemichi joined the family business as the 2nd-generation potter in 1979 and began hand-making (手造り) at the kiln; he has been practicing for ~46 years. His group exhibitions include 名古屋中日ビル (Nagoya Chunichi Building) in 1996 and 東京黒田陶苑「土練人」(Tokyo Kuroda Touen “Tsuchineri-jin” / “Clay-Kneaders” group show) in 1997. The artist biography card 「清風の匠」(Seifu no Takumi / “Master of Seifu”) is included with this cup as part of the named-artist provenance.

🔥 What 二層構造 (Double-Wall Hollow-Insulation) means

This is not a slip-cast or pressed cup — Tabata throws the inner wall and outer wall, then joins them with a sealed air-gap cavity between. The cavity is closed with a small foot vent (visible at the cup base). The trapped air is a poor heat conductor (just like a vacuum thermos works on the same physics, but here with one wall instead of two and air instead of vacuum). The practical effect:

• Cold drinks stay cold longer than in a single-wall cup
• Warm drinks (hot sake, tea) stay warm longer
• The outer wall barely sweats with cold drinks → no need for a coaster
• The outer wall doesn’t get burning-hot with hot drinks → comfortable to hold

🥃 At the table

• ロック (rocks) — whiskey, shochu, awamori served over ice (the literal “rock cup” name origin)
• 冷酒 (chilled sake) — the 300 mL capacity fits a comfortable tokkuri pour for two
• クラフトビール (craft beer) — short pour for tasting; the insulation keeps the foam cold
• アイスコーヒー / アイスティー — no coaster needed; the cup doesn’t sweat
• 熱燗 (warm sake) and Japanese tea (sencha, hōjicha) — the same insulation works for warm pours
• Display-only collector piece — the matching Black Luster (ブラックラスター) sister variant will be listed separately for shelf-pair display

🎨 Why “Mino-yaki” matters

美濃焼 (Mino-yaki) is Japan’s largest single ceramic-tradition by volume — covering ~50% of the national tableware production — centered in Toki, Tajimi, Mizunami, and Kani cities in southern Gifu Prefecture. The tradition encompasses many sub-styles (Shino, Oribe, Setoguro, Yellow Seto, and modern engineered designs like this hollow-insulation piece). Tabata’s Kinshō-gama works within the Mino tradition but with contemporary functional innovation — the hollow-construction rock cup form is a modern engineered piece that uses Mino’s centuries of ceramic knowledge in service of a 21st-century use case.

🧼 Care

• Microwave-safe ✅ supplier-confirmed (Japanese care card states 電子レンジ使用可 — for reheating)
• Dishwasher-safe ✅ supplier-confirmed (Japanese care card states 食洗機使用可)
• Avoid sudden temperature changes (e.g. boiling water onto a cold cup, or removing a hot cup from microwave directly onto a cold surface) — the Japanese care card explicitly notes 急激な温度変化はお控え下さい
• Do not place directly on open flame (this is a finished drinkware piece, not a donabe)
• Hand-wash recommended for the longest life of the glaze (despite dishwasher being safe, hand-wash preserves the iron-fleck speckle and iridescent surface)

🎁 Gift-ready

Arrives in a paulownia 桐箱 (kiribako — light-tone wooden gift box) stamped “Seifu japan style — Produced by mino”, measuring 115×115×125 mm. Includes the artist biography card and Japanese care card. The paulownia kiribako is the traditional Japanese presentation box used for tea-ceremony pieces, named-artist work, and formal gifts — substantially more elevated than a typical product box. A natural gift for:

• Whiskey, shochu, sake enthusiasts and home-bar collectors
• Japanese-pottery and named-artisan-piece collectors
• Executive gifting (the kiribako + biography card support B2B gift presentation)
• Father’s Day, wedding, anniversary, housewarming gifts
• Modern Japanese-tableware curators — pairs strikingly with the Black Luster sister variant (a separate listing) for shelf display

🔗 Sister variant — Black Luster

The same artist also makes the Black Luster (ブラックラスター) variant — iridescent black with shimmering blue-purple-green glaze; same form, same construction, same paulownia kiribako. Message us if you would like to be notified when the Black Luster listing goes live.

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.