New · Made in Shiga, Japan · For someone hoping hard
Shigaraki ware · paws together · size 5 (5-gō) · 17.5 cm tall
Shigaraki Tanuki, Paws Together
A Shigaraki tanuki with his paws pressed together and his eyes turned up, a wooden tag reading 開運, may good fortune open, round his neck. In the shop he is called onegai-danuki: the tanuki saying please.
$129 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
A gift for 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
In 1951 the Emperor came to Shigaraki, a pottery town in the hills of Shiga. It was a small place with little to offer a visitor like that, so the townspeople did what they could: they lined the road with clay tanuki, each one holding a tiny paper flag. The Emperor was so delighted that he wrote a poem about them. Within a few years tanuki were standing outside shops and bars all over Japan.
This one has put down the flag and put his paws together. He is asking for one thing, and he means it.
The craft
Shigaraki ware, made in Japan in Shiga prefecture. Straw hat, dark glaze round the eyes, a small sake flask at his side. Japanese makers size tanuki in gō; he is a 5-gō, 17.5 cm tall.
Living with it
He belongs on a desk during the weeks of waiting: an exam result, a job offer, a test at the doctor's. You know the feeling of checking your phone too often. Or send him to someone who is waiting, with a note that says you are hoping too.
• Size 5 (5-gō) • Shigaraki ware • Made in Japan
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.
More Shigaraki ware on the shelf · 7 →
A question about this piece — size, marks, condition? Ask the house, we answer within a day.