Toki Blog So you broke some plates, or bowls…but wait, maybe there’s still some use! Our Los Angeles Store Manager Ms. Hiroko came up with this creative idea to use broken tableware to create her own mosaic work of art! 
What a unique idea! Use simple patterns and create your own special work of art! She used different items and took patterns from each to create this special piece!
A common question we get is: How come things don’t match in a set?
For example: the designs are all different? Or the colors are different?
The reason is that at a Japanese table-setting, they are meant to “not match”. It makes the table more interesting to view as an overall, rather than have everything look exactly the same. But even if there are different designs, or different colors, there is something that ties them together so that they don’t look awkward next to each other, such as color tone, or design, or texture.
But if you like the matching style, we do recommend our series page-here you can find styles in the same design!
Tea was introduced to Japan in the 9th Century from China as a form of medicine. It wasn’t until the 17th Century, that commoners started drinking tea on a regular basis. The legend of tea says that about 5,000 years ago, a Chinese emperor was told that he must boil all drinking water as a hygienic precaution. One summer, he and his court stopped to rest, so they began to boil some water. Dries leaves from a nearby bush fell into the boiling water and turned the water into a brown liquid. The emperor, also being a scientist, was curious and decided to try and drink it anyway. He found the new liquid to be very refreshing; and so, tea became a beverage. Today, there are 4 different methods of manufacturing tea, which categorizes the main teas: black, oolong, green and white.
Some tea samples, Sen-Cha(=tea), Hoji-Cha, Genmai-Cha
People have always found pleasure in tea drinking for the taste and for the health benefits that it provides. Today, studies show that Green Tea “Matcha” has great health benefits. It is know to lower the risks of many types of cancers, blood cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar. It is even know to kill bacteria, prevent tooth cavities, and reduce stress.
Uji is a district near the ancient city of Kyoto. It became the 1st tea-growing region in Japan. They are still very well known, especially for their Gyokuro and Matcha tea. Later, tea plantations were planted in Shizuoka prefecture and also other surrounding regions.
We will be posting more tea accessories shortly. For now, you can view some of our tea sets and other items here.
Today there are many options to tea, and even green tea. Our sister company www.matchamonk.com which you can view more about please click here! This company provides a unique way of serving tea with ease for just about any body!
So at least almost once a day-at every one of our stores we get this question:
“What is this for?”
So for those that saw this and wondered but weren’t able to ask a sales associate :
This is a sake set for Cold Sake. There is an opening on the side of the bottle, that allows you to put ice in it to keep the sake chilled without having to use an ice bucket!
I always see people walk by and come back to take a 2nd look and then ask again. Most of our stores have put up little signs to indicate this being that it was being asked all of the time! It makes a great gift and a great conversation piece as well!
It can also be used for other drinks as well, and even as a very nice looking vase too!
Product Code:
# 234-014, # 234-015, # 234-017 available. You can search this on our web site advanced search feature and search by product code if you like:
Or click here for full line of sake items!
So you don’t drink Sake, but you think the Sake Bottle are the most intersting shapes, and somehow you are drawn to them!
Don’t worry-there are plenty of other uses for them!!
We know many restaurants, cafes, and even regular people who use the sake bottle as a flower vase!
We also have very creative customers who showed our merchandise being used in very creative ways:
(above) They took a wood board and cut some holes, and inserted the glass sake cups with tea light candles to create a gorgeous tabletop candle unit!
(right) here they used the tall clear sake glass and again used a board, cut some holes and with a rope, they hung it as a very unique floral display unit!
Other customers have used the sake bottle as sauce containers, and one customer even found a cork top to fit on the top of the sake bottle, and he uses it for his EVO (extra virgin olive oil!)
The sake cups I have also seen used as a various sauce dipping container for a dinner!
So even if you don’t drink Sake, take a look and you might come up with some other great ideas as well!
Tanuki or Raccoon Dog
Tanuki translates as a raccoon dog, part of the canine family. Japanese folklore rates the Tanuki as masters of transformation arts.
Contrary to what many of our staff believes, the Tanuki is NOT modelled after our company president…(I was FORCED to write that!)
Using a leaf, Tanuki’s are believed to be able to change their shapes into any forms they want! (Sound familiar? * For the Super Mario fans, if you’ve ever played the game, you will notice that Mario gets a leaf, then he transforms INTO a Tanuki! The modern day game does surprisingly use traditional Japanese folklore in their games as well!)
Back to the folklore-Tanuki’s usually play harmless tricks on humans. They are quite mischievous but lovable. Today you can see a Tanuki statue standing outside retaurants and bars beckoning customers. Usually he stands upright with a vest and hat, and carrying a sack of sake for good company.
There are things on the Tanuki that symbolizes things:
During the Edo period, it was common to find young sons running a what we would call a “beer run” today- for their fathers. The son would run to the local sake / liquor store with a sake bottle and memo pad. The store clerk would fill up the sake bottle, and record the amount of sake purchased on the memo pad. Somehow the raccoon dog, and the Edo sons were combined into the Tanuki ornament!
The tanuki also symbolizes “good human nature” by:
1. If a person is very generous, he / she is figuratively said to have a “big belly”. So the big belly on the tanuki symbolizes generosity.
2. The ever smiling face of the tanuki represents the good heart.
3. The hat is said to prevent oneself from hard.
With all above combined, the tanuki ornament is considered a good luck charm. (Makes a great gift for those who love Sake also!)
Click here to see our Tanuki Items!
Daruma is a round doll head, that has no arm, no legs, and no pupils.
(I know-sounds a little creepy?) BUT it’s for Good Luck!
Legend says that the Zen monk prayed for enlightenment for 8 years, staring at a blank wall. As a result he lost use of his arms and legs. The daruma is connected with the saying, “Seven times down, Eight times up.”
When you get a daruma doll you should make a wish, and color in one pupil. (Usually the right pupil first). When your wish comes true, draw in the other pupil, indicating you have seen your wish come true!
It is traditional to give someone a daruma when they are starting a new venture; usually a new business. But today, you can give a daruma to anyone who has a dream, to give them motivation to see it come true!
Click here to see our Daruma Selection!
The Maneki-Neko or Japanese Lucky Cat also known as the Beckoning Cat.
The Maneki Neko is believed to bring good luck to the owner of a business. A raised right paw is believed to bring fortune and the raised left paw is believed to bring customers / friends.
Lucky Cats have a decorative collar, bell, and usually a bib of some sort; which is how cats of wealthy homes were decorated with during the Edo period in Japan.
Because their exact origins are unknown, but there have been documents that show their existence as early as in the 1870’s. There are many legends and stories of the “1st” Maneki Neko- such as how a cat saved a wealthy man from lightning, another that saves a woman from a snake, and even a cat that brought fortune to a poor sick elderly lady. Despite how each legend differs, they all indicate that the cat is considered lucky!
Some people have said that it looks like the cat is waving, not beckoning! Japanese people beckon people with the fingers faced down, while Westerners beckon with the fingers faced up.
Maneki-neko’s are a great gift to give someone as a good luck item!
Click here to see our Maneki Neko Items!
Many people ask about the lead content in our merchandise. None of our items are allowed to enter our stores for resale until the FDA and Customs in the USA allow us to do so. (The lead safety test is actually much more strict in Japan than the USA).
The tableware you see on our web site and stores is mostly all safe for food use except for the obvious decorative items, such as decorative plates, vases, dolls etc…
We have been in business for over 25 years in the USA alone, and believe us, we use our products too on a daily basis!
If you are ever unsure if something is solely for decorative use, please email customerservice@tokiusa.com or please ask a sales associate at our stores! We would be happy to assist you!
Our tea sets, usually come with 1 tea pot, and 5 cups in most cases. Many of our customers look at the tea pot, and then the cups and ask: “This tea pot is enough for 5 of these cups?”
Or a common question we get is for the tea pots that are sold individually, they ask: “How many cups does this fill?”
Truthfully-we don’t have an answer to this question, because of the way Japanese Green Tea should be served.
Basically-you put hot water into the tea pot (first your tea leaves first), and let it sit for about a minute or so (depending on your taste preference).
Next, if you have for example 5 cups-you NEVER fill 1 cup completely, and then start filling the 2nd cup. If you have 5 cups to fill, you pour a little in each cup evenly, then add more hot water and continue filling them each little by little. If you pour one cup completely at a time, the 1st person will get a strong tea, and the last person will get a weak tea! Because this is the way that Japanese green tea is served, there is no answer to the “How many cups?” question.
Japanese tea cups are generally small so that you can continue to refill with warm water-so you can enjoy warm tea each cup!
