KIYOMIZU WARE SAKE CUP BY KURAMOTO TAKASHI | SOMETSUKE SAKURAZUME 染付桜詰 | NISHIKAWA

Countless cherry blossoms, each painted by hand.

Created by Kyoto ceramic artist Kuramoto Takashi, Sometsuke Sakurazume transforms the simplicity of blue and white porcelain into an extraordinary field of cherry blossom — intricate, individual and unmistakably handmade.

Description

From a distance, Sometsuke Sakurazume (染付桜詰) appears almost abstract — a dense field of deep blue flowing across white porcelain.

Come closer, and the pattern begins to reveal itself.

What first appears to be texture is in fact an extraordinary multitude of cherry blossoms, individually painted by hand. Petal follows petal across the curved surface until almost no space is left undecorated. The pattern continues beyond the exterior, filling the inside of the cup and even extending into the recessed area beneath its foot.

The technique is sometsuke (染付), Japan’s distinctive tradition of blue-and-white porcelain decoration. Yet here, its familiar blue and white palette is pushed towards extraordinary complexity through sakurazume (桜詰) — literally a composition densely filled with cherry blossoms.

There is no mechanical repetition.

Place two cups side by side and subtle differences immediately emerge. One blossom opens slightly wider; another carries a heavier blue line. The spacing shifts, the concentration of pigment changes, and individual petals take on their own character.

The same pattern, never exactly the same.

These variations are not imperfections. They are traces of the hand that made the piece.

The Artisan — Kuramoto Takashi

This cup is the work of Kyoto ceramic artist Kuramoto Takashi (倉元貴史).

Born in 1968 as the second son of Kuramoto Kōhō II (二代倉元光抱), Takashi trained formally in ceramics at the Kyoto Prefectural Pottery Training School, completing both its forming and advanced courses, before continuing his ceramic studies at the Kyoto Municipal Industrial Research Institute. In 1987, he entered the tutelage of his father, the second-generation Kōhō, and later received instruction from Miura Chikken II (二代三浦竹軒).

His work therefore belongs to a living lineage of Kyoto ceramics rather than simply borrowing its visual language.

Kuramoto describes his practice as preserving techniques inherited from the first-generation Kōhō while pursuing a contemporary sensibility within traditional craftsmanship.

Sometsuke Sakurazume expresses that philosophy beautifully.

Its subject could hardly be more traditional — sakura, one of Japan’s most enduring natural motifs — and its blue-and-white palette belongs to a centuries-old ceramic language. Yet the extraordinary density of the composition gives the piece an almost contemporary visual rhythm.

Thousands of tiny gestures become a single surface.

A sake cup from afar.

A field of cherry blossom up close.

And in every slight difference between one piece and the next, the presence of the artisan remains visible.

Summary

An exceptional work of Kiyomizu ware by Kyoto artist Kuramoto Takashi, where countless individually hand-painted cherry blossoms transform traditional sometsuke blue and white into a remarkable expression of patience, precision and living craftsmanship.

PRODUCT DETAILS

• Brand: Nishikawa
• Original Name: 染付桜詰
• Romanised Name: Sometsuke Sakurazume
• Artist: Kuramoto Takashi (倉元貴史)
• Product: Sake Cup / Guinomi
• Ware: Kyo Ware / Kiyomizu Ware
• Origin: Kyoto, Japan
• Technique: Sometsuke (染付) blue-and-white decoration
• Motif: Densely painted cherry blossom / Sakura
• Decoration: Individually hand-painted
• Material: Porcelain
• Made in Japan
• Handcrafted: Each piece is individually made and painted; variations in form, colour, linework and pattern placement are part of its character.

Notes
Each piece is handcrafted, with slight variations in form and texture. Subtle glaze variations are a natural characteristic of the making process and add to the unique expression of each piece.

Shipping
Shipped directly from the UK warehouse.