The tradition of Arita-yaki porcelain in Saga Prefecture dates back to 1616, when Li Sam-Pyeong, a potter who had immigrated from Korea, found a deposit of high-quality kaolin on Mount Izumi.
Arita-yaki porcelain began to be exported to the West in the 1650s, but it was in the 1830s that pottery so fine that it became known as “egg shell” appeared. It continued to be exported until World War II, after which the technique almost disappeared.
With these pure white, almost translucent, incredibly delicate cups, the Yamahei workshop, founded shortly after the war by Yamamoto Heisaku, has brought Arita-yaki “egg shell” porcelain back to life.
Their exquisite thinness and transparency are such that you can glimpse the colour of the liquid they contain, and their very simple design emphasizes the whiteness of Arita-yaki porcelain. They are glazed on the inside only, while the outside is decorated with a little white clay, for an effect evoking the motifs on silk cocoons.