New · Made in Shiga, Japan · For a shop's first morning
Shigaraki ware · clasp purse · size 5 (5-gō) · 17.5 cm tall · paper box
Shigaraki Tanuki with a Coin Purse, Brown
A brown tanuki in a straw hat, arms around a clasp purse almost as big as he is, and a small wooden tag round his neck: 開運, kaiun.
$139 Free shipping to 32 countries
Order by December 8 to make sure it arrives before Christmas.
We ship to mainland China: free, tracked. Import duties, if any, are paid on delivery. Where we ship
Colour: Brown · For a shop's first morning
A gift for a new business · luck and protection
Leaves Fukuoka within one week by EMS, with tracking.
The story: Shigaraki wareWatch the 47-second film, or read it →What buyers say · ★★★★★ on Etsy
“Received updates regarding the item I purchased and when it arrived could tell that it was packed with care; my fragile ceramic bunny arrived in perfect condition! A wonderful purchase and I would buy from this shop again”
Jessica · United States
1 more from buyers
“Item was as described and in photos shown. Excellent quality. Seller very knowledgable and took the time to explain everything”
Tiang N. · Australia
- Made in Japan. Shigaraki ware, from Shiga prefecture.
- New, never used. Checked and packed by hand in Fukuoka.
- Returns within 14 days of delivery. Not right? Send it back as it came and we refund the full price, return postage included.
- Packed safely, sent by EMS within one week, fully insured, with tracking.
Duties, checkout and extras
- ★ 5.0 on Etsy · Star Seller. Read the reviews ↗
- Import tax. It depends on your country; if any is due, it is collected on delivery.
- US import duties. Already included in the price: nothing to pay at your door.
- Secure checkout by Stripe — cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay. No account needed.
- Two pieces, one parcel. Each extra piece in the same order is $15 off at checkout.
- Orders of $200 or more travel with a gift to keep: Japanese chopsticks with a rest in a paulownia box, or a Nara kaya-cloth handkerchief.
The story
Shigaraki has made pottery for centuries, but its tanuki are young. In one telling, the potter Fujiwara Tetsuzo made the first about a hundred years ago, reportedly just for fun. In 1951, the story goes, Emperor Shōwa visited Shigaraki and was moved by tanuki holding small flags along the road. He wrote a poem. Newspapers reported it, and the tanuki spread across Japan, to shop doors and restaurant counters.
The meaning
The tag reads kaiun: 開 to open, 運 fortune. The opening of good fortune. It is the one wish he states outright. In the traditional list of eight lucky features, the hat is said to guard against misfortune and the purse to stand for luck with money. Lists vary by source.
The craft
Shigaraki ware, from Shiga, one of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns. Dark chestnut glaze, glossy where it pools, over a woven pattern. Each one differs a little in glaze and face.
Living with it
A café counter, a restaurant till, a desk where invoices get written. Brown sits well beside timber and dark stone. At 17.5 cm he is made for the counter, not the doorway where his taller cousins stand. Turn his face to the entrance. Anyone who has unlocked their own shop for the first time knows how loud a quiet morning can be.
How it comes
In a paper box, packed with care and sent from Fukuoka. If a friend is about to open something, he may suit their first day.
How it travels
Packed safely, insured in full
Every piece is packed by hand in Fukuoka inside a sturdy 3 mm corrugated carton, cushioned all round with air pillows so it cannot move. It travels with tracking all the way to your door: by EMS, insured for its full value, on orders of $100 or more, and by tracked airmail below that.
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A question about this piece — size, marks, condition? Ask the house, we answer within a day.