Tableware
Tableware
Japanese tableware occupies a uniquely important position in the country's food culture. Unlike many culinary traditions where the vessel is secondary to what it contains, Japanese dining treats the choice of plate, bowl and cup as an integral part of the meal itself. The colour, texture and form of the tableware is chosen to complement the food served in it — rough-textured ceramic for rustic winter dishes, delicate porcelain for refined seasonal preparations, lacquered wood for celebratory occasions. This attention to the complete visual and tactile experience of eating is one of the most distinctive aspects of Japanese food culture and one that is easily appreciated and adopted at home.
The range here covers the full breadth of Japanese table ceramics, from the minimalist stacking porcelain of Hasami — whose clean lines and earth-tone glazes suit both Japanese and Western food beautifully — to the hand-thrown stoneware bowls of artisan kilns, to the Kujira collection with its understated elegance rooted in traditional Japanese forms. Plates range from small square or rectangular dishes used for individual tasting portions to larger oval platters suited for sashimi or shared preparations. Bowls cover everything from small condiment dishes and sauce cups to deep donburi bowls and large serving vessels.
Rice bowls, miso soup bowls, ramen bowls and teacups each have specific proportions and aesthetic conventions that have developed over centuries of Japanese dining practice. The right rice bowl — small and rounded, slightly tapering toward the base — fits comfortably in the palm of the hand, which is how rice is held and eaten in Japan. The right miso soup bowl has a lid to retain heat and a lacquered outer surface that stays cool enough to hold while the soup inside is hot.
These pieces are chosen for quality, authenticity and longevity.
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