Not cherry — plum. Ume opens in late winter, while there is still snow on the branch. It is the flower of the thing that comes before, which is why it is on our mark, and why it is on this bowl.
Made and painted by hand in Japan. The glaze is oribe, the deep copper green named for Furuta Oribe, a tea master of the sixteenth century who liked his bowls a little out of true. It pools down one side and stops where the potter stopped it.
Every one is different. The one that arrives will not be the one photographed here.
How to use it
This bowl holds 236 ml and sits in one hand. That is one bowl of usucha — not a mug of it, which is the point.
You can whisk in it, though there is not much room for the chasen. The other way is the one spouted bowls are made for: whisk in a larger chawan with a lip, and pour into this one to drink. The bowl you whisk in and the bowl you drink from do not have to be the same bowl.
What it is
9.5 cm (3.75 in) across, 6 cm (2.5 in) tall. Holds 236 ml (8 fl oz).
Earthenware, made in Japan. Handmade and hand-painted.
Care
The maker says it is dishwasher safe. Hand washing will keep the painting longer, and we would.
