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Sanuki Rihei-yaki Yunomi: Takamatsu’s Oldest Domain Kiln Teacup [2026]

Kagawa 13 min read
Sanuki Rihei-yaki Yunomi: Takamatsu’s Oldest Domain Kiln Teacup [2026]
📢 PR: This article contains Amazon affiliate links (US primary, Japan secondary) (details).

Sanuki Rihei-yaki (讃岐理平焼, “Sanuki Rihei ware”) is regarded as the oldest pottery tradition in Kagawa Prefecture, on the island of Shikoku. It did not begin as a village folk kiln. It began as an act of domain patronage: in the Kanbun era (1661–1673), the first lord of the Takamatsu domain invited a Kyoto Awataguchi potter to settle in his castle town, and that potter — who took the working name Rihei — founded a lineage that still fires pots today.

Because its roots are in Kyo-yaki (京焼, “Kyoto ware”) rather than in rustic stoneware, Rihei-yaki carries a refined, painterly character: hand-applied decoration and controlled glazes, the aesthetic of an elite Edo-period court town rather than a farming hamlet. The piece covered here is a Kyoto-style hand-painted yunomi (湯のみ, an everyday Japanese teacup) from the Morishima kiln, the family workshop that has kept the Rihei name alive.

This guide is written for readers shopping from outside Japan who want a teacup with a documented lineage rather than a generic souvenir. We cover what the listing actually states, who the piece suits and who should pass, how it compares to other Shikoku and kiln-town teacups, and the realistic paths to buy it internationally. Where data is thin, we say so plainly rather than guessing.

🗓 Published:
🔄 Updated:
⏱ Read time: about 11 minutes
Sanuki Rihei-yaki Kyoto-style hand-painted yunomi teacup from the Morishima kiln in Takamatsu, Kagawa
Sanuki Rihei-yaki Kyo-style yunomi (Morishima kiln), the specific listing covered in this guide. Per the Amazon JP Global Store listing as of June 4, 2026.

Who this is for — and who should skip it

✅ A good fit if you…
  • Want a teacup with a verifiable, documented kiln lineage rather than an anonymous gift-shop piece.
  • Appreciate Kyo-yaki-style hand-painting — refined decoration over rustic, heavy stoneware.
  • Are building a collection of Shikoku or domain-kiln ceramics and want Kagawa’s oldest pottery represented.
  • Drink Japanese green tea daily and prefer a smaller, hand-finished cup to a mass-produced mug.
  • Are comfortable buying a single artisan piece where exact dimensions vary between firings.
❌ Probably skip it if you…
  • Need a large-capacity mug for coffee or a full breakfast pour — a yunomi is a modest tea size.
  • Want guaranteed identical units (hand-painted ware shows natural piece-to-piece variation).
  • Expect dishwasher- and microwave-rated durability confirmed in writing (the listing data is thin here).
  • Are price-sensitive and would rather buy an unbranded teacup at a fraction of the cost.
  • Need the item fast and cheaply — international shipping from Japan adds time and cost.

Product overview (from published specs)

The data available for this specific piece is limited. Only the Amazon JP Global Store listing snapshot is available; live pricing and exact dimensions may have shifted since the writing date, and several physical specifications are not stated on the listing. The table below marks unconfirmed fields honestly rather than inventing values.

Attribute Detail Source
Item Sanuki Rihei-yaki Kyo-style hand-painted yunomi (teacup) Listing title
Maker / kiln Morishima kiln (the Rihei lineage), Takamatsu, Kagawa Maker tradition
Material Glazed ceramic, hand-painted (Kyo-yaki style) Listing / tradition
Origin Kagawa Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan Listing
Capacity / dimensions Unconfirmed — check manufacturer / listing Not stated
ASIN B00IJ1TP9E Amazon JP Global Store
Store What you get Notes
🇺🇸 Amazon US (search) Browse Japanese yunomi & ceramic teacups Best if shopping from the US — Prime shipping, USD pricing, no customs. Amazon US carries Japanese teacups from various makers; this exact Rihei-yaki piece ships from Japan (next row).
🇯🇵 Amazon JP Global Store The exact Morishima-kiln Rihei-yaki yunomi (ASIN B00IJ1TP9E) Sourced listing for this guide. Ships internationally from Japan. Price varies — verify on the listing.
Maker direct Morishima kiln, Takamatsu Small workshop; no confirmed English-language direct-order channel at time of writing.
Proxy services (Buyee / Tenso) Forwarding from JP domestic shops Useful if a piece is only listed domestically; adds a forwarding fee.
📖 Glossary — key terms
  • Yunomi (湯のみ) — a tall, handleless Japanese teacup for everyday green tea, distinct from the wider, shallow chawan used in formal tea ceremony.
  • Kyo-yaki (京焼, “Kyoto ware”) — the refined, often hand-painted ceramic tradition of Kyoto, associated with court and temple patronage rather than rustic folk pottery.
  • Awataguchi (粟田口) — a historic pottery district on the eastern edge of Kyoto and a wellspring of Kyo-yaki potters; Rihei came from this lineage.
  • Rihei-yaki (理平焼) — the ware and the inherited workshop name founded by the Kyoto potter who took the name Rihei in Takamatsu; “Sanuki Rihei-yaki” specifies the Sanuki (Kagawa) origin.
  • Sanuki (讃岐) — the old province name for present-day Kagawa Prefecture.
  • Daimyo (大名) — a feudal domain lord. The Takamatsu daimyo’s patronage is why this kiln exists.

Which finish should you choose?

This piece is listed in 6 options. The photos below are the actual パターン名 options on the listing right now — pick the one you want and confirm it on the product page before ordering, since hand-finished wares vary slightly piece to piece.

Price snapshot across stores

JPY is the authoritative price for the specific listed item; USD figures are approximate estimates at a ¥150/USD baseline as of mid-2026. The exact listing price was not present in the available data, so it is shown as “varies” rather than guessed.

Store Item / variant Price (JPY + USD est.) Notes
🇺🇸 Amazon US (search) Browse Japanese yunomi & ceramic teacups varies (USD) Best from the US — Prime, USD pricing, no customs. Compare teacup styles and price tiers.
🇯🇵 Amazon JP Global Store Rihei-yaki Kyo-style yunomi (B00IJ1TP9E) varies — verify on listing The sourced item. Ships internationally from Japan; customs may apply above local thresholds.
Maker direct Morishima kiln, Takamatsu Unconfirmed Small workshop; no confirmed English direct-order at time of writing.
Proxy services (Buyee / Tenso) Forwarded from JP domestic shops item + forwarding fee Path for pieces listed only on JP domestic stores; expect a service fee and consolidated shipping.

Prices in USD are approximate and depend on the current exchange rate. Prices and stock fluctuate; check the affiliate link for current data.

What it does well

🏛 Documented lineage
Kagawa’s oldest pottery, traceable to a single Kanbun-era founding act of domain patronage rather than an anonymous factory.

🎨 Kyo-yaki refinement
Hand-painted decoration in the Kyoto idiom — controlled, painterly, and distinct from rustic folk stoneware.

✋ Single-workshop continuity
The Morishima kiln still fires the line on a small scale, so each cup is a hand-finished piece, not a stamped run.

☕ Everyday size
A handleless yunomi suits daily green tea — a practical heritage object you actually use, not a shelf display piece.

“Rihei-yaki did not grow up from a village — it was invited in. A Kyoto court potter, carried into a Shikoku castle town by a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, and the kiln has answered to his name ever since.”

Weaknesses and things to verify before buying

  1. Dimensions and capacity are not stated in the available listing data. If exact size matters to you, confirm on the listing before ordering — yunomi run smaller than a Western mug.
  2. Price was not present in the fetched data. Treat any figure you see at checkout as the current price; the snapshot above intentionally avoids a guessed number.
  3. Care instructions are unconfirmed. Hand-painted glazed ware is often best hand-washed; do not assume dishwasher or microwave safety unless the listing states it.
  4. Hand-painting means variation. The piece you receive may differ slightly in pattern and tone from the listing photo. This is inherent to the craft, not a defect.
  5. International shipping adds cost and time. From Japan, expect a shipping surcharge and possible customs duty depending on your country’s import threshold.
  6. It is a single cup, not a set unless the listing specifies otherwise — verify the quantity before buying for a household.

Where this comes from

📍
Where this is made
Takamatsu (Kagawa, Shikoku)
North coast of Shikoku island, on the Seto Inland Sea — about 600 km southwest of Tokyo, the smallest of Japan’s four main islands, linked to Honshu by the Great Seto Bridge.

Kagawa Kagawa, Shikoku
📍 Kagawa sits on the north shore of Shikoku, facing the Seto Inland Sea — roughly 600 km southwest of Tokyo and a short bridge crossing from the Okayama side of Honshu.

Kagawa is the smallest prefecture in Japan, occupying the northeastern corner of Shikoku and looking out across the calm, island-dotted Seto Inland Sea toward Honshu. In the Edo period it was the province of Sanuki, and its principal castle town was Takamatsu — a coastal seat with sheltered harbors, mild weather, and easy sea links to Osaka and Kyoto. That maritime connection to the Kansai cultural center matters here: it is how a Kyoto potter could be brought across the water to a Shikoku domain, and why the ware that resulted looks like Kyoto rather than like local stoneware.

Takamatsu Castle (Tamamo Park), the seat of the Matsudaira domain in Kagawa
Takamatsu Castle (Tamamo Park), seat of the Matsudaira domain whose first lord invited the Kyoto potter who became Rihei. — Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.5)

The pivotal figure is Matsudaira Yorishige, installed in the mid-17th century as the first lord of the Takamatsu domain. He was a grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the founder of the shogunate, and the elder brother of Tokugawa Mitsukuni of Mito — in other words, a high-ranking lord with direct ties to the ruling house and to elite cultural taste. During the Kanbun era (1661–1673), he invited a potter from Kyoto’s Awataguchi district, Morishima Sakubei, to settle in Takamatsu. Sakubei took the working name Rihei, and the ware he founded became Sanuki Rihei-yaki — Kagawa’s oldest pottery.

Because the founder came out of Kyo-yaki, the resulting tradition inherited the refined, hand-painted aesthetic of the imperial capital rather than the heavier folk-pottery look of many regional kilns. This was domain-patronized ware, made within reach of a lord’s household and tastes.

Ritsurin Garden in Takamatsu, laid out over generations by the Matsudaira lords of Kagawa
Ritsurin Garden, laid out over generations by the Takamatsu Matsudaira lords — the same domain patronage that founded the Rihei-yaki kiln. — Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The same patronage produced Ritsurin Garden, one of Japan’s most celebrated landscape gardens, developed over generations of Matsudaira lords just outside the castle. Garden, castle, and kiln belong to one cultural project: an Edo-period domain importing and cultivating Kansai refinement on the Shikoku coast.

📜 Timeline — Sanuki Rihei-yaki and its domain
  • 1588 — Takamatsu Castle is built on the Seto Inland Sea coast, anchoring rule over Sanuki province.
  • 1642 — Matsudaira Yorishige, grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu, is installed as the first lord of the Takamatsu domain.
  • c. 1661–1673 (Kanbun era) — Yorishige invites the Kyoto Awataguchi potter Morishima Sakubei, who takes the name Rihei; Sanuki Rihei-yaki is born.
  • c. 1745 — Ritsurin Garden reaches largely its present form under the Matsudaira lords, expressing the same patronage.
  • 1871 — The domains are abolished; the Morishima family carries the Rihei kiln forward privately, without lordly patronage.
  • 20th–21st c. — Rihei-yaki is recognized as a Kagawa-designated traditional craft, with the Morishima kiln keeping the lineage active.
  • 2026 — The Morishima kiln still fires Rihei-yaki on a small scale; this yunomi belongs to that continuing line.
Kotohira-gu (Konpira) shrine in Kagawa, a major Sanuki pilgrimage site
Kotohira-gu (Konpira), Kagawa’s great pilgrimage shrine — a touchstone of the Sanuki cultural landscape around the kiln. — Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

Kagawa’s cultural landscape reinforces the picture. Kotohira-gu — the great Konpira shrine, climbed by centuries of pilgrims up its long stone stairway — drew travelers and trade from across western Japan, and Sanuki has long been a crossroads of the Inland Sea rather than a remote backwater. A kiln serving a cosmopolitan castle town fits naturally into this setting.

Yashima plateau overlooking the Seto Inland Sea in Kagawa
Yashima plateau overlooking the Seto Inland Sea, emblematic of the Sanuki geography that shaped Takamatsu’s craft culture. — Photo: Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

The flat-topped Yashima plateau above Takamatsu, the calm sea studded with islands, and a climate famously low in rainfall give Sanuki its distinctive character — the same region known today for its udon and its art islands. Against that backdrop, the Morishima kiln is a small, living survival of a 360-year-old domain craft. To buy this yunomi is to take a piece of that continuity off the shelf and put tea in it.

Conclusion — which buyer type are you?

💎 Premium / collector
You want documented heritage and a living kiln. Rihei-yaki delivers exactly that — Kagawa’s oldest pottery, still fired. Buy it.

☕ Mainstream tea drinker
You drink green tea daily and want a hand-finished cup with a story. A strong fit — just confirm size and care on the listing.

🪙 Budget-focused
If price is the deciding factor and lineage is not, an unbranded teacup will serve the same function for far less. Consider passing.

⏭ Skip it
If you need a large coffee mug, guaranteed identical units, or fast cheap delivery, this is not the right object for you.

Other ways to approach this purchase

🏷 Wait for a sale
Amazon JP Global Store prices shift; if you are not in a hurry, watch the listing across a few weeks before ordering.

♻️ Secondhand / antique
Older Rihei-yaki pieces surface on Japanese resale and antique channels; condition varies, so buy from clear photos.

🎁 Points & rewards
If you already hold Amazon points or card rewards, applying them offsets the international shipping surcharge.

⏭ Skip / substitute
If lineage is not essential, one of the Shikoku-pottery yunomi in the compare box may suit your budget better.

🏆 Editor’s Pick

🏆 Editor’s Pick — the Rihei-yaki yunomi we’d start with

For a reader who wants one teacup that carries real, traceable Japanese craft history, the Sanuki Rihei-yaki Kyo-style hand-painted yunomi from the Morishima kiln (ASIN B00IJ1TP9E) is the clear pick. Three reasons:

  • Oldest in Kagawa — a 360-year lineage founded by direct domain patronage, not heritage marketing.
  • Kyo-yaki refinement — hand-painted decoration in the Kyoto idiom, a step above generic souvenir ware.
  • Still a living kiln — the Morishima workshop continues to fire the line, so the cup is a genuine hand-finished piece.

❓ Frequently Asked Questions

What is Sanuki Rihei-yaki?

It is the oldest pottery tradition of Kagawa Prefecture (old Sanuki province), founded in the Kanbun era (1661–1673) when the first Takamatsu lord, Matsudaira Yorishige, invited a Kyoto Awataguchi potter who took the name Rihei. The ware carries a refined Kyo-yaki (Kyoto-style) painted aesthetic, and the Morishima kiln continues the lineage today.

Does this teacup ship internationally?

The specific piece is sourced from the Amazon JP Global Store, which ships to most major international destinations from Japan. Expect a shipping surcharge and possible customs duty above your country’s import threshold. If a piece is only listed domestically in Japan, a proxy forwarder such as Buyee or Tenso is the alternative path.

How should I care for a hand-painted yunomi?

Care instructions were not confirmed in the available listing data. Hand-painted glazed ware is generally safest hand-washed, and it is prudent not to assume dishwasher or microwave safety unless the listing states it. Verify on the listing before first use.

Why does the price show as “varies” instead of a number?

The exact price was not present in the data available at the time of writing, and we do not publish guessed figures. The JPY price at checkout on the listing is the authoritative one; any USD value is an approximate estimate at a ¥150/USD baseline.

Will the cup look exactly like the photo?

Not necessarily. Because the decoration is hand-painted, pattern placement and tone vary slightly from piece to piece. This variation is a feature of single-kiln craft ware rather than a defect; if you need perfectly uniform units, this is not the right product.

How does it compare to other Shikoku teacups?

Shikoku has several distinct kiln traditions — Otani-yaki in Tokushima, Odo-yaki in Kochi, and Tobeyaki in Ehime among them. Rihei-yaki’s distinguishing point is its Kyoto-court origin and Kagawa-oldest status. See the compare box above for direct links to those alternatives.

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📢 Affiliate Disclosure — This article contains affiliate links from the Amazon Associates Program. The primary path is Amazon US (amazon.com) via search — many of these hand-forged Japanese craft items are not individually listed on amazon.com, but Amazon US carries comparable Japanese kitchen and home goods, and commissions on whatever the visitor purchases through the search link go to support this site. The secondary path is Amazon JP Global Store (amazon.co.jp), which is where the specific items covered in this guide are sourced from and which ships internationally to most major destinations. If you make a purchase through either of these links, we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Prices and availability shown are based on data at the time of writing and may have changed — always verify at the retailer before purchasing. USD figures shown alongside JPY are approximate (¥150/USD baseline as of mid-2026); the JPY price is the authoritative one for the specific listed item.

Note: This article was prepared with AI assistance and reviewed against the source listing data. Specifications, pricing, and availability were drawn from the data available at the time of writing; please verify current details on the retailer’s page before purchasing.

Affiliate disclosure: jpmono.com may earn a commission on qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.

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