Recent Articles

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  2nd Nov 2026

  How to Choose a Japanese Incense Burner (Koro): Bronze, Porcelain, and the Motifs They Carry

  An incense burner spends most of its life unlit. For those hours it is simply an object on a shelf…

  Published by Team Manekineko-Ai

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  26th Oct 2026

  How to Choose a Japanese Calligraphy Brush: A Guide to Nara Fude

  A calligraphy brush looks simple: a bamboo handle and a tuft of hair. Almost everything about how…

  Published by Team Manekineko-Ai

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  23rd Oct 2026

  Choosing a Matcha Bowl: Reading the Shape, Size, and Clay of a Chawan

  A matcha bowl is the one piece of teaware you hold in both hands and look straight into. It is wor…

  Published by Team Manekineko-Ai

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  22nd Oct 2026

  Kyo-yaki and Kiyomizu-yaki: A Guide to Kyoto's Many-Styled Pottery

  Set ten pieces of Kiyomizu-yaki side by side and they may look as if they came from ten different…

  Published by Team Manekineko-Ai