Tour-ish trash, or something more?

June 21, 2023 7:27 PM

My parents are no longer with us in body. But their 2-br apartment remains. And contains these items, among many others. Since my dad spent a few months in Japan courtesy of the US Army during the US occupation, he may have picked these up at that time. Or, maybe my mom bought them at the Met Museum Store. Any idea what they are?

Googling found no comparable items. Near-misses have wildly varying prices and no detailed descriptions. Which is what I'm really after. The link shows 4 views of one of 12 items, along with a shot of the group.
While I expect no revelation on the scale of the famed 1936 Vienna, Austria telephone book Ask I'd be grateful for any guidance the hive mind can provide.
Thanks!

posted by Citizen Cane Juice to Society & Culture (11 answers total)

Best answer: The little colorfully-painted tea cups are decorated with the seven lucky gods of Japan (shichifukujin). I doubt the Met Store would have had something this culturally specific. No idea if they are valuable, but they do seem old-fashioned in their painting style, so it’s entirely possible your dad bought them a few decades ago. I wouldn’t call them trash, given the cups have a decent amount of detail and are clearly painted by hand.
posted by Atrahasis at 7:47 PM on June 21, 2023 [3 favorites]

I have a similar item from family that has “made in occupied japan” stamped on the bottom of it. If that is missing, that might rule Japan out as a source because that label or other specific ones were a requirement at the time.
posted by soelo at 7:47 PM on June 21, 2023

My first thought was that an 'occupied japan' mark (or one of its variants) would be hard to miss. But while that mark is desirable to some today, I am not sure it would have been then. I wonder if stuff made pre-occupation was seen as better or more authentic (not made for export) to people in your dad's sphere.

Anyway, lots of stuff was made in Japan without that mark, and it didn't all disappear from shelves and warehouses as soon as US troops showed up to occupy.
posted by SaltySalticid at 7:53 PM on June 21, 2023 [2 favorites]

If it was purchased in Japan, I wonder if the law regarding "made in occupied Japan" didn't apply since it wasn't an official import.
posted by metahawk at 7:57 PM on June 21, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: The mark on the bottom says 九谷 (Kutani), which means they are Kutani ware, a traditional style of Japanese porcelain. This particular mark is fairly generic and doesn’t give much information about the origin of these pieces, but for a bit more information see this page on Kutani seals and markings.
posted by mbrubeck at 8:44 PM on June 21, 2023 [8 favorites]

Best answer: The pieces look to be old enough that they were purchased in Japan during the occupation - so you are likely to have some or all items that were in fact manufactured pre-occupation.

Christie's, Shinwa, etc - these are auction houses that sell Japanese ceramic and porcelain - and they can give you an idea what the items may be worth.
posted by Barbara Spitzer at 10:33 PM on June 21, 2023

Not in answer to the question so apologies if this is considered off topic, but for anyone wondering what "the famed 1936 Vienna, Austria telephone book Ask" is, it's this question from 2005.

(I'd never seen this question so thank you for highlighting it. What a gem Ask MeFi is!)
posted by underclocked at 11:30 PM on June 21, 2023 [15 favorites]

I know precisely zero about the origin, but I have a similar collection of "little wee bowls" like that, salvaged from my own grandparents' house. It's entirely possible they came from Japan - my great-grandmother apparently visited sometime in the 1950s, and my mother and aunt each got a child-size kimono and a paper parasol as "I got you something" swag when she got back, so it's possible she picked up a similar collection of little bowls like this for my grandmother.

It was pretty apparent that the kimonos were "made for the tourist market" (I have Mom's kimono as well, and it's a little shabbily made), and the bowls look a little generic as well. So - it's possible your Dad got something like this in Japan, but that it was also just, like, the equivalent of a set of Ikea cups as opposed to being antiques.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 12:13 AM on June 22, 2023

Best answer: Any idea what they are?

Pretty sure they're ochoko sake cups
posted by underclocked at 12:25 AM on June 22, 2023 [1 favorite]

Best answer: I asked a friend who has done research in Japan. He agrees with Atrahasis: the unstacked cups with the patterned rims appear to depict the Seven Lucky Gods (七福神, shichifukujin ).
posted by gudrun at 12:57 PM on June 23, 2023

Response by poster: Thanks to all for identifying what they are, where they might come from, and how to learn more (Christie's, Shinwa). There are other tchotchkes, of course. Some are as yet identified, others came over from the Old European Country in the 1930s along with my dad, his brother, and my grandmother. Those are much easier to identify, since I've heard many of the stories about what they are and how they got here.
Watch this space!
posted by Citizen Cane Juice at 10:58 AM on June 26, 2023 [1 favorite]