Yunomi/Tea Cup (White Sumi Crackle Glaze)

White glaze, black cracks — a cup of clean contrast that accumulates its own history.

The White Sumi Yunomi from NANKEI POTTERY (南景製陶園) is a small, palm-fitting tea cup made in the Banko-yaki tradition of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture. The base glaze is white and smooth, crossed with kannyu — the fine surface cracks that form naturally when clay and glaze cool at different rates. NANKEI deepens these cracks by hand with India ink (sumi), tracing the fracture lines in black to create the sumi-kannyu pattern. New cracks appear as the cup is used, and the ink works deeper with time — the pattern slowly accumulates. Because the glaze absorbs slightly, darker teas can gradually tint the kannyu lines; this is part of the cup's character.

At 100ml, it holds a single pour of gyokuro or concentrated sencha. The white base glaze makes the dark sumi lines read sharply — classic contrast, no excess.

Shipping

• Japan: ¥800 flat rate — free shipping on orders over ¥15,000.
• Asia: from ¥2,500 — free on orders over ¥25,000.
• EU, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada: from ¥3,500 — free on orders over ¥35,000.

※Shipping rates for apparel and other goods vary by product and destination (shown at checkout). Please see our shipping policy for full details.

South of Nagoya, along the shore of Ise Bay, Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture has been a centre for Banko-yaki since the eighteenth century. The city's iron-rich clay and long firing tradition gave rise to a distinct stoneware character — dense, unglazed surfaces that age quietly with use. 南景製陶園 (Nankei Pottery) has worked within this tradition for decades, using a proprietary clay formula that has remained unchanged for more than fifty years. High-temperature yakishime firing drives off virtually all porosity, leaving a body that is hard, smooth to the touch, and subtly warm in colour.

The forms Nankei designs are spare and considered — nothing added that does not serve the tea. A kyusu pours cleanly; a yunomi sits without fuss in the hand. That restraint comes not from minimal effort but from sustained attention to proportion and weight. If you want to learn more about the people behind the work, our Behind the Sip article on Nankei Pottery goes further: Nankei Pottery — Banko-yaki in Yokkaichi.