Wow, stunning! What vendor? I need some black ones. Japanese packaging is super. I am eager to see the rest of the photos you have promised!Ritva wrote:I got two packets from Japan today!
Jun 6th, '08, 16:00
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Location: Gainesville, Florida
My chatakus came from hereSalsero wrote:Wow, stunning! What vendor? I need some black ones. Japanese packaging is super. I am eager to see the rest of the photos you have promised!Ritva wrote:I got two packets from Japan today!
http://www.teashop.jp/category/60.html
They don't have very large selection, but they sell overseas.
If you're willing to use an agent like http://stores.homestead.com/japanesegoods
then you can buy from any japanese internet shop. Here's a large selection of chatakus http://item.rakuten.co.jp/moku-moku/c/0000000130/
and some very nice trays as well http://item.rakuten.co.jp/moku-moku/c/0000000136/
I don't know why the number is 5. In Finland and I guess in many other countries as well people often buy tableware in sets of 4 or 6. In Japan a set of 4 items is very bad thing, I've heard it means death or something. Maybe the word "4" resembles word "death"?brandon wrote:Dumb question, why do Japanese tea items come in sets of 5? 2 children and 1 guest? 1 child and 2 guests? Extended families? Inquiring minds want to know the custom behind this "odd" number.
Jun 6th, '08, 19:37
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chamekke
That's exactly what I've been told. One way to say "four" is "shi", which is a word for death. So it's considered inauspicious to buy items in sets of four.Ritva wrote:In Japan a set of 4 items is very bad thing, I've heard it means death or something. Maybe the word "4" resembles word "death"?
This also means that Japanese buyers are less likely to be interested in buying sets of four items (where one of the items has been broken)... which opens up opportunities for people like us, who have no such associations
______________________
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
"Never trust a man who, when left alone in a room with a tea cosy, doesn't try it on."
- Billy Connolly
Yup, that's exactly it.chamekke wrote:That's exactly what I've been told. One way to say "four" is "shi", which is a word for death. So it's considered inauspicious to buy items in sets of four.Ritva wrote:In Japan a set of 4 items is very bad thing, I've heard it means death or something. Maybe the word "4" resembles word "death"?
This also means that Japanese buyers are less likely to be interested in buying sets of four items (where one of the items has been broken)... which opens up opportunities for people like us, who have no such associations