Product Introduction: This is a Japanese ceramic tokkuri (sake bottle). It has a rough texture, and you can feel the quality of the clay, making it a tasteful piece. From the rustic glaze on the surface and the burn marks remaining on the bottom of the bottle, you can tell it was carefully handmade. The characters written on it are drawn with traditional Japanese sumi ink. The right side reads "Shinano-i." "Shinano" is an old Japanese province corresponding to present-day Nagano Prefecture, and "i" means well. It is likely that this represents a special sake made using spring water from the Shinano region, or the name of the brewery that made the sake. The left side appears to be written as "Shinano-ya Kei." This may also be the name of the brewery or the kiln where this tokkuri was made. The straw rope wrapped around the neck is likely for non-slip purposes, for carrying, or simply as decoration. It looks like an old Japanese sake bottle. It would be lovely to use it as a flower vase or to display it as interior decoration. - Size: Height 35cm, Diameter 12.5cm - Cleaned before listing Thank you for viewing.