Mashiko ware yunomi set

This set of Mashiko ware yunomi is composed of six cups which are each about 3.5" high x 2.5" in diameter. They are unmarked and came in a tomobako which was assembled with nail reinforced, glued joints. There is a label with some history of Mashiko ware on the lid of the tomobako. It think that this set dates to the 1950s or 1960s based on other examples that I have seen.

These sets are fairly common, most probably because either many were made or sellers of them tend to ask in the low hundreds of dollars for a set in the original box, or both. I have never seen one sell for anything like that price, however, which may be why they linger, unsold.

Several sets that I have seen bear Otagiri labels. One set had labels from the United Nations Bazaar on the box in addition to Otagiri labels on each cup. There are at least two versions of these cups, the version in this post and a version with a squared body and base. The design of the glaze appears to be similar across all the examples that I have seen. Otagiri was active 1946-1994, so they fall somewhere in that range, age wise.

I came across a set for a very reasonable price so purchased it since I have wanted a set, but was not willing to pay a couple of hundred dollars for one. No idea what kiln made these. I have sent an email to the U.N asking them for contact information for the United Nations Bazaar to see if I can determine when they were selling these. Hamada Shoji was declared a Living National Treasure in Japan in 1955, partly for his work in the mingei movement in Mashiko, which may have inspired this set.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%8Dji_Hamada