Japanese Porcelain Nesting Sake Set

White porcelain ceramic sake set designed specifically for hot sake. Comes with one sake bottle and two nesting sake cups that can also serve as a lid. Made in Japan since 1973. 

This ceramic sake set, named “Snowman” for its simple but playful shape, was specially designed with the help of designers and artisans for the purpose of hot sake, or “atsukan.” Cold sake is typically poured into a bottle and heated up in hot water along with the sake cups in which the liquor will eventually be served—this creates moisture on the cups that tends to dilute the taste of the sake. With this streamlined model, the hot sake can be heated in the bottle, and the residual heat is absorbed by the nesting cups that also double as a lid.

The set was made by a ceramic studio formed in 1973, Ceramic Japan Co., which creates ceramics and porcelain wares in conjunction with designers. The company is based in Seto, a locale so famous for its ceramics that their wares have a special name: Setomono. The studio’s innovative designs, such as the “Crinkle Super Bag Vase K-2” designed by Makoto Komatsu, have landed them a place in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art in New York as well as various prestigious design awards.

Size
Total height with lid: 5.5" x 3" diameter (14 x 8 cm)
Small nesting cup: 2" diameter (5 cm)
Large nesting cup: 2.25" diameter (6 cm)

Materials
Porcelain

Made in
Japan

Key points
- May be used for hot or cold sake, and designed specifically for the heating and enjoyment of hot sake
- White porcelain retains heat
- Nesting cups double as a lid, to keep sake warm while warming the cups to the correct temperature