Sake glasses decorated with ukiyo-e style cat art

How would you like to enjoy a drink with a beautiful glass featuring ukiyo-e cat art? Well, cat lovers can actually do that now, with these “Edo Cat Glasses” decorated with art originally created by ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

The glass used in the product has a sparkly, crystal-like appearance that’s sure to be a delight to look at.

The glasses, designed for drinking sake, come in three designs. One shows a dancing cat wearing a Japanese hachimaki headband. One shows a cat simply sitting and looking innocent, but who knows what mischief the feline might have in mind. And the third design features a cat dressed as a samurai playing with a traditional Japanese ball ("mari").

Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who created numerous ukiyo-e woodblock prints in the early to mid 19th century, was known to have been a huge cat lover, so it’s not surprising that he created such attractive cat images.

Each glass also comes with a beautiful wood "masu" cup made of Japanese cypress, engraved with matching illustrations. It’s not a box, you’re supposed to drink out of it! You can place the sake glass into the "masu" cup, fill the glass to overflowing, and then drink the excess sake that spilled into the "masu" cup – a style of drinking called “masu-zake”.

Each glass and "masu" set is priced at 3,780 yen and comes in an elegant box that makes it perfect as a gift.

And if you’re more of a beer person than a sake drinker, there’s also a set of three beer glasses in two different designs for some golden, bubbly fun, available for 6,480 yen.

The cat glasses are available from Glass Shop Ishizuka’s online shop on Rakuten Market. They’re definitely fun to look at, and if you’re visiting Japan, an item that combines drinking with feline art by an ukiyo-e master should make for a great souvenir!

Source: Rakuten Market/Glass Shop Ishizuka via Japaaan Magazine

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© Japan Today