【Reading】ゆのみ

【English Name】Yunomi / Tea cup

A yunomi is a handleless ceramic vessel, formally called a "yunomi-jawan" (tea cup). At sushi shops it is used when serving the hot green tea called "agari," making it indispensable at the counter. It is said to have become established as a vessel for drinking plain hot water or bancha tea as the sencha tea culture spread during the Edo period. Yunomi at sushi shops tend to be made larger than household ones, which is said to be a device to keep the tea from cooling and to reduce the number of refills. The material is often porcelain, and ones decorated with fish motifs are standard. In East Asia, a culture of enjoying relatively low-temperature tea took root, so handles were unnecessary, and in English it is distinguished as a "tea bowl."