A cup fired in a Sanage kiln in the Heian period (794-1185). It has an extensive bottom carved with a spatula and a rich ash glaze applied on the wall. Its use is unclear, but it may have been something like a rice measuring cup used for calculating the taxes or a daily container used by the wealthy farmers. It is a piece that conveys the ‘beauty of usage’, which is different from the ritual tools for courts and temples that were the primary production of the Sanage kiln at that time.

There is a crack on the wall that was repaired, and other flaws occurred during the kiln process, and minor chips, hairlines can be seen. Although it would need Otoshi (an inside cup), it would be a brilliant small flower vase.