Banko-yaki Tea Cup - Ink Pattern

This tea cup is expertly made in the style of Banko-yaki, a type of Japanese pottery produced in Yokkaichi City, Mie Prefecture. Its surface is smooth and glossy and decorated with intricate patterns created with a technique known as sumi kan’nyū. Kan’nyū refers to a phenomenon called crazing, whereby fine cracks appear on the surface of the glaze, influenced by a number of different factors such as sudden temperature changes after firing. Sumi kan’nyū involves permeating ink (sumi) into these cracks, which produces one-of-a-kind patterns.

Kansai

The Kansai region includes the second-most populated metropolitan area in Japan with its largest city Osaka. Kyoto and Nara, two of Japan’s former capital cities, are home to important temples and shrines and strongholds of intangible cultural heritage, such as the Kyoto textile weaving skills of Nishijin.