New · Made in Shiga, Japan · For the till, face to the door
Shigaraki ware · clasp purse · size 5 (5-gō) · 17.5 cm tall · paper box
Shigaraki Tanuki with a Coin Purse, Golden Yellow
A golden tanuki hugging a purse as round as his belly, with a wooden tag reading 開運, kaiun: the opening of good fortune.
$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: Golden Yellow · For the till, face to the door
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
Walk past enough Japanese restaurants and you will meet a tanuki at the door. It starts as a pun. Tanuki sounds like ta-nuki, 他抜き, "to get ahead of the others," so a shop that wants to stay a step in front keeps one by the entrance.
The meaning
The purse is a second pun. A clasp purse is a gamaguchi, "toad's mouth," for the way its frame opens wide. The word for frog, kaeru, also means "to return," so frog charms are traditionally carried in wallets in the hope that spent money comes home. His straw hat, big eyes and round belly belong to the eight lucky features tanuki are said to carry: protection, good judgment, calm.
The craft
Shigaraki ware, from Shiga, one of Japan's Six Ancient Kilns, made from sandy clay of the Lake Biwa bed. Golden glaze over a woven diamond pattern. Each one differs a little.
Living with it
Put him beside the till, facing the door. At 17.5 cm he is a counter tanuki, not the tall one that guards an entrance, and he fits next to a card reader. You know the minute before opening: float counted, sign turned, nothing yet to show for it. He keeps you company there.
How it comes
In a paper box, packed with care and sent from Fukuoka. If you know someone about to open a door of their own, you could pass this on.
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.