Vintage · Made in Japan · one of one
Shigaraki ware · glazed ceramic · set of two · 17.5 cm
Shigaraki Tanuki, Ninja Pair
Two tanuki who have swapped the straw hat for a ninja hood. One is red and carries a throwing star, one is black, and both are 17.5 cm of glazed Shigaraki ware.
$210 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 a new business · a new home
Leaves Fukuoka within three business days by EMS, with tracking.
Condition report
- Condition
- vintage, unused
Want a closer look at a mark or an edge? Ask for more photographs.
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. Made in Japan, found in Japan, and sent to you from Fukuoka.
- One of one. This exact piece, photographed in our studio 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 three business days, 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 sits in Kōka, in the hills of Shiga, and Kōka has another famous export: ninja. In 1582, when the warlord Oda Nobunaga was killed in Kyoto, his ally Tokugawa Ieyasu was caught far from home with almost no guards. He fled across the mountains, the story goes, guided and protected by local men from Iga and Kōka who knew every path. He made it home. Twenty years later he ruled Japan, and he did not forget who had got him there.
So a ninja tanuki is a local joke with a local history behind it. These two keep the round belly and the grin. The word tanuki sounds like ta-nuki, "getting ahead of others", which is why shopkeepers like one by the door.
The craft
Shigaraki ware, glazed ceramic, from one of Japan's six ancient kiln towns. The pair is unused.
Living with it
A pair suits a hallway, a shop window or either side of a door. If you secretly enjoy a quiet entrance, they are your kind of tanuki. A good gift for someone with a business and a sense of humour.
• Shigaraki ware, glazed ceramic • 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.