# Sake set

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Flask and cups to serve sake

"Guinomi" redirects here. For the Filipino ingredient made from agar, see [Gulaman](/source/Gulaman).

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*Sake* can be served in a wide variety of cups; here is a *sakazuki* (flat saucer-like cup), *ochoko* (small cylindrical cup), and *masu* (wooden box cup).

A ***sake*** **set** (酒器, *shuki*) consists of the [flask](/source/Bottle) and [cups](/source/Cup) used to serve *[sake](/source/Sake)*. *Sake* sets are most often in [Japanese pottery](/source/Japanese_pottery), but may be wood, [lacquered](/source/Lacquer) wood, [glass](/source/Glass) or [plastic](/source/Plastic). The flask and cups may be sold individually or as a set.

[Sake cups](/source/Rice_wine_cup) are normally small, with variable shapes but based on traditional bowls used for tea. They are normally without handles, and most often without stems.

## Server

*Kiriko* ([切子](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%88%87%E5%AD%90), cut glass) *tokkuri* and *ochoko*

The server of a *sake* set is a flask called a *tokkuri* ([徳利](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E5%BE%B3%E5%88%A9)). A *tokkuri* is generally bulbous with a narrow neck, which tends to be called a "flask" in English, but may have a variety of other shapes, including that of a spouted vessel (*katakuchi*), similar to a Western [teapot](/source/Teapot). Traditionally, heated *sake* is often warmed by placing the *sake*-filled *tokkuri* in a pan of hot water, and thus the narrowed neck would prevent the heat from escaping. In more authentic places such as *[oden](/source/Oden)* bars and *[ryōtei](/source/Ry%C5%8Dtei)* in Japan, sake is sometimes warmed and served in metal containers known as *chirori* (銚釐)[1][2][3][4] or *tanpo* (湯婆).[5] Recently, glass *chirori* are also used to chill sake.[6]

## Drinking cups

Formerly, sake was sold by volume in a wooden box measuring cup, known as a *[masu](/source/Masu_(Japanese))*[7] which has a volume of one *[gō](/source/G%C5%8D_(unit))* (180 ml, 6.3 imp fl oz, 6.1 US fl oz) and was also used to drink. In the past, the wooden box was said to complement the traditionally brewed sake, as it is brewed in a wooden [cask](/source/Cask) ([樽](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E6%A8%BD)), but in modern times, the masu is shunned by sake purists because the wood affects the flavor of the sake. Furthermore, tradition requires the masu be filled to the rim as a sign of prosperity. Masu are now commonly made of [lacquerware](/source/Lacquerware) or even of [ABS plastic](/source/Acrylonitrile_butadiene_styrene). As the traditional sake-serving cup and a symbol of prosperity due to sharing the same pronunciation as the Japanese word for increase/proliferate ([増す](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/%E5%A2%97%E3%81%99)), the masu is still used in modern times for the purpose of ceremony or to show generosity. In some Japanese restaurants, the server may put a glass inside the *masu* (or put the *masu* inside a saucer) and pour until the sake overflows and spills into the secondary container to symbolize this wealth.

Nowadays, the sake is typically served in ceramic cups. The cups used for drinking sake are generally small cylindrical vessels called *o-choko* or *choko* ([猪口](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E7%8C%AA%E5%8F%A3), o- is an [honorific prefix in Japanese](/source/Honorific_speech_in_Japanese#Honorific_prefixes) used such as *o-sake* and *o-makase*), but may also include flatter shapes such as wide-mouthed bowls. *Sakazuki* are ceremonial cups used most commonly at weddings and other special occasions such as [tea ceremonies](/source/Japanese_tea_ceremony), but larger versions of *sakazuki* also exist.

While not a traditional serving utensil, a [shot glass](/source/Shot_glass) is also used. In the United States, it is used as a substitute for ochoko, while in Japan it is used in conjunction with *masu*. Sake [stemware](/source/Stemware) is also used, which is essentially a glass sake cup elevated above a wide base. Sake stemware, as well as glass tokkuri, are now commonly used to serve chilled sake.

		- Three traditional sake cup shapes

		- A decorated lacquer *masu*

		- Overflowing glass inside the *masu*

		- The bride is sipping sake from a *sakazuki* in *san-san-kudo* ([三三九度](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E4%B8%89%E4%B8%89%E4%B9%9D%E5%BA%A6)) ritual in a Japanese wedding. A woman on the right is holding a *chōshi* ([銚子](https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E9%8A%9A%E5%AD%90)) sake server. From *Sketches of Japanese Manners and Customs, Illustrated by Native Drawings...* by J. M. W. Silver, published in London in 1867.

		- *Masu* being used to drink sake at a sake [barrel breaking ritual](/source/Kagami_biraki) in Japan, 2020

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** [James Curtis Hepburn](/source/James_Curtis_Hepburn) ["Chirori"](https://books.google.com/books?id=4h0TAAAAYAAJ&dq=sake+chirori&pg=PA41), *A Japanese and English dictionary: with an English and Japanese index*, [American Presbyterian Mission](/source/American_Presbyterian_Mission) Press (Shanghai), 1867, p. 41.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** (in Japanese) ["銚釐"](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E9%8A%9A%E9%87%90), kotobank/[Asahi Shimbun](/source/Asahi_Shimbun), accessdate=2010-12-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** (in Japanese) ["お燗グッズ 本格派錫製ちろり"](https://www.meimonshu.jp/modules/xfsection/article.php?articleid=262), [Japan Prestige Sake Association](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Japan_Prestige_Sake_Association&action=edit&redlink=1), accessdate=2010-12-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Sepp Linhart ["Some Thoughts on the Ken Game in Japan: From the Viewpoint of Comparative Civilization Studies"](http://ir.minpaku.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10502/750/1/SES40_009.pdf) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20110722073739/http://ir.minpaku.ac.jp/dspace/bitstream/10502/750/1/SES40_009.pdf) 2011-07-22 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), *Senri Ethnological Studies*, 40 (1995), p. 101-124.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** (in Japanese) ["湯婆"](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%B9%AF%E5%A9%86), kotobank/[Asahi Shimbun](/source/Asahi_Shimbun), accessdate=2010-12-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** (in Japanese) ["ちろり"](http://www.dewazakura.co.jp/shuki/chirori.html) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20031009213043/http://www.dewazakura.co.jp/shuki/chirori.html) 2003-10-09 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine), [Dewazakura Sake Brewery Corporation](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dewazakura_Sake_Brewery_Corporation&action=edit&redlink=1), accessdate=2010-12-22.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** (in Japanese) "[枡酒](http://dic.search.yahoo.co.jp/search?p=%E5%8D%87%E9%85%92&ei=UTF-8) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20140318020459/http://dic.search.yahoo.co.jp/search?p=%E5%8D%87%E9%85%92&ei=UTF-8) 2014-03-18 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)", Yahoo! Japan Dictionary/日本国語大辞典, accessdate=2010-12-22.

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Sake sets](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Sake_sets).

- [Sake Flask Shapes Guide](http://www.e-yakimono.net/html/flask-shapes.htm)

- [Tokkuri- Sake Flask Shapes](http://www.esake.com/Knowledge/TOKKURI/tokkuri.html)

- Yoshio Tsuchiya, Masaru Yamamoto (food styling), Eiji Kori (photography), [Juliet Winters Carpenter](/source/Juliet_Winters_Carpenter) (translation) ["Saké servers"](https://books.google.com/books?id=EApBl0xz-zgC&dq=sake+chirori&pg=RA1-PA70), *The Fine Art of Japanese Food Arrangement*, [Kodansha International](/source/Kodansha_International) (Tokyo), 2002, p. 70. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-4-7700-2930-0](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-4-7700-2930-0)

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Authority control databases: National Japan

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sake set](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake_set) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sake_set?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.