Kutani Kitayama Sake Cup Pair — Dragon & Fire Horse, Aka-e

The outside is lacquer-red silence. Turn these Kutani cups over and the interior erupts: one holds a fire horse (龍馬) — cobalt blue, mane streaming in flame, red dots scattered like embers; the other contains a golden dragon (金龍) coiling through blue-green cloud mist, scales painted in gold and green with the patient precision that defines nishiki-de (錦手, "brocade-style") Kutani polychrome. Both cups share an interior border of gold-and-green leaf ornament. Both exteriors carry the same deep aka-e (赤絵) red with incised wave patterns that shimmer only in raking light. From Kutani Kitayama kiln, Ishikawa Prefecture — a named studio with the green square seal on each base. Sold as a matched complementary pair.