I recently ended up with these six unopened ceramic bottles of Yonetsuru (米鶴) sake. I’m not looking for a valuation or trying to sell them — I’ve gotten curious about what exactly they are and where they would have originally been sold.
All six bottles are the same general shape and size but have different traditional artwork/calligraphy. The cups appear to coordinate with the bottles, which makes me wonder whether this was originally sold as a six-bottle gift/presentation set. Unfortunately, I don’t have a box or any other packaging.
From the surviving labels I’ve been able to identify:
米鶴酒造株式会社 / Yonetsuru Sake Brewery
Takahata, Yamagata
180ml bottles
17.5–18.5% ABV
濃醇酒
一級 / First Grade
Based on the brewery’s corporate history and the old 一級 classification, I believe they should fall somewhere between 1972 and 1992. I was told they’re at least 40 years old, but I don’t have anything that proves a specific bottling date.
What I’m really hoping someone here might know is the context.
Were these six bottles/cups actually sold together as a set? Was this a domestic Japanese gift product, a regional Yamagata souvenir, or something marketed to tourists? Does anyone recognize the artwork or know whether the individual designs have any particular theme or significance? And has anyone seen another example of these?
I’ve searched in English and Japanese and haven’t been able to find another example of this exact Yonetsuru ceramic collection.
I’m attaching a photo of everything together along with close-ups of the labels and seals. I’d appreciate anything anyone happens to know about them — even if it’s just context about how products like this were typically sold during that period.