Japanese Frosted Glass Cup with Red Plum Blossoms (Kōbai)

A small, rounded glass cup with a softly frosted lower half and a clear band at the rim. It's printed with a dark, gnarled plum branch scattered with bright orange-red blossoms. A little red seal on the side reads 紅梅 (kōbai, "red plum"). It nestles comfortably in the palm and is a lovely size for cold sake, green tea, juice or a small dessert. It also makes a pretty votive holder. The print is bright and clean.

Long before cherry blossoms took over, plum blossoms were Japan's most celebrated flower. During the Nara period (710–794), aristocrats and poets gathered to admire ume, which had been brought over from China and was prized for its beauty and scent. That was the very beginning of the hanami flower-viewing tradition. Ume are still the first blossoms of the year in Japan, flowering from mid-February as a sign that spring is on its way.