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Let adorable traditional ukiyo-e cat art add to your drinking pleasure! 

How would you like to enjoy a drink with a beautiful glass featuring ukiyo-e cat art? Well, cat lovers can actually do that now, with these “Edo Cat Glasses” decorated with art originally created by ukiyo-e master Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

The glass used in the product has a sparkly, crystal-like appearance that’s sure to be a delight to look at.

▼ The glasses, designed for drinking sake, come in three designs.
This one shows a dancing cat wearing a Japanese hachimaki headband.

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▼ This one shows a cat simply sitting and looking innocent,
but who knows what mischief the feline might have in mind!

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▼ And this design features a cat dressed as a samurai playing with a traditional Japanese ball (mari). What cat doesn’t enjoy some ball action, right?

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Utagawa Kuniyoshi, who created numerous ukiyo-e woodblock prints in the early to mid 19th century, was known to have been a huge cat lover, so it’s not surprising that he created such attractive cat images.

Each glass also comes with a beautiful wood masu cup made of Japanese cypress, engraved with matching illustrations. It’s not a box, you’re supposed to drink out of it! You can place the sake glass into the masu cup, fill the glass to overflowing, and then drink the excess sake that spilled into the masu cup – a style of drinking called “masu-zake”.

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Each glass and masu set is priced at 3,780 yen (US$33) and comes in an elegant box that makes it perfect as a gift.

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And if you’re more of a beer person than a sake drinker, there’s also a set of three beer glasses in two different designs for some golden, bubbly fun, available for 6,480 yen.

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▼ The beer glasses come in a beautifully decorated wooden box.

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The cat glasses are available from Glass Shop Ishizuka’s online shop on Rakuten Market. They’re definitely fun to look at, and if you’re visiting Japan, an item that combines drinking with feline art by an ukiyo-e master should make for a great souvenir!

And if you want to add a bit of variety to your fancy sake cup collection, check out Godzilla cups, Gundam cups, and the very impressive cups made out of meat that you can eat when you’re done drinking. Now that’s eco-friendly!

Source: Rakuten Market/Glass Shop Ishizuka via Japaaan Magazine
Images: Rakuten Market/Glass Shop Ishizuka