CHOOSING YOUR SAKE WARE
SEASONALITY
There are suitable decorations for each season.
SPRING
BANREKI AKAE, HASAMI SAKE WARE
Banreki Akae originated from Jingdezhen
city in China. This sake ware features
hand-painted red on a white ceramic
base. Its floral pattern is a lovely choice
for spring. Hasami pottery is from
Nagasaki prefecture in Japan, and the
picture below shows the Kuwaranka
style, which is probably the most wellknown style of Hasami. Kuwaranka
was the first ever ceramic released to
ordinary citizens at an affordable market
price. Its motifs are flowers and plants,
particularly suitable for spring.
SUMMER
SOMETSUKE, SEIJI, GLASSWARE AND CEDAR SAKE WARE
Sometsuke is painted in blue on white ceramic. It is refreshing
to look at and to the touch. Seiji is light greenish blue coloured
ceramic, quite delicate and looks very summery. Both are
definitely suitable for cold sake but also good with warm sake.
Glassware comes in many different colours and patterns. These are
cool to the touch and evoke a summery feeling. There are many
types of sake glassware available, from hand-made Vidro to crafted
Edo and Satsuma Kiriko.
What is particularly nice in summer are guinomi made with tin –
which enhances the lovely acidity and fruitiness in sake and also
keeps it cold for longer. Finally, sake ware made of cedar wood
transfers a refreshing green cedar fragrance to sake. Their beautiful
bare tree appearance and natural touch make them lovely sake
ware for summer.
MUSEUM OF SAKE JOURNAL 12