Suribachi — Japanese Ceramic Mortars by OUJIGAMA, Seto

The suribachi as our principal work

A suribachi is a Japanese mortar — a ceramic bowl with fine grooves cut into the inside, used with a wooden pestle (surikogi) to grind sesame, grate ginger, dress vegetables and much more. It has been the centre of OUJIGAMA's work since the mid-Edo period. Durable Seto clay and hand-cut grooves, used daily in the kitchen, carried Seto mortars across Japan.

Today we offer suribachi from small household sizes to the large mortars used in restaurant kitchens.

Nested Shino mortars: the glazed rims and the grooves — Nested Shino suribachi: the thick glazed rims and the hand-cut grooves

The grooves are cut by hand

The grooves inside a suribachi are called me — "the teeth" — and cutting them is metate. At OUJIGAMA, the grooves of every mortar are cut by hand, one bowl at a time.

The grooves are what decide how a mortar grinds. Too fine and it clogs; too coarse and it bites. The right cut depends on what the bowl is for.

Tools used by generations of the workshop

In the kitchen, on the table

Grind, dress, crush, pound, grate. A suribachi is a cooking tool and, at the same time, a serving bowl. Everything shown here was made in an OUJIGAMA Shino suribachi.

Grating ginger in a Shino suribachi (5–6 sun) — Grate — ginger (5–6 sun)

Grating jinenjo yam in a Shino suribachi (6 sun) — Grate — jinenjo yam (6 sun)

Grinding shiso leaves in a Shino suribachi (6 sun) — Grind — shiso leaves (6 sun)

Crushing nuts in a Shino suribachi (5–6 sun) — Crush — nuts (5–6 sun)

Mashing potatoes in a Shino suribachi (5–7 sun) — Mash — potatoes (5–7 sun)

Dressing shredded carrot by hand in a Shino suribachi (5–6 sun) — Dress — carrot (5–6 sun)

Spinach with sesame in a Shino suribachi (5–6 sun) — Dress — spinach with sesame (5–6 sun)

Potato salad in a Shino suribachi (5–6 sun) — Straight to the table — potato salad (5–6 sun)

Pesto pasta tossed and served in a large Shino suribachi (8–9 sun) — Straight to the table — pesto pasta (8–9 sun)

Sizes

Suribachi are sized in sun, a traditional unit of about 3 cm. We make them from san-sun (3 sun, about 11 cm across) up to shaku-hachi (about 54 cm).

Size	Approx. diameter	What it is used for
3–4 sun	11–12 cm	Condiments, a little sesame, ginger
5–6 sun	15–18 cm	Grating ginger, crushing nuts, dressing carrot or spinach, potato salad — the most useful household size
6 sun	18 cm	Grating jinenjo yam, grinding shiso
7 sun	22 cm	Mashing potatoes, dressed vegetables for a family
8–9 sun	26–28 cm	Tossing pasta and serving from the bowl; larger quantities
1 shaku – 1 shaku 2 sun	31–36 cm	Professional kitchens
1 shaku 8 sun	about 54 cm	Extra-large, for restaurant kitchens

These are only examples. There are as many ways to use a suribachi as there are kitchens, and the right size differs from person to person. If in doubt, tell us what you want to make.

About the surikogi pestle

A suribachi becomes a tool only together with its pestle. We keep surikogi to match every size of bowl, from 3–4 sun up to 1 shaku 8 sun.

Caring for your suribachi

Clean your suribachi with a tawashi scrubbing brush. After use, simply work the brush through the grooves to lift out any food, and rinse under running water. If you use detergent, rinse well so that none is left in the grooves, and let the bowl dry fully before putting it away. Avoid metal scourers and hard brushes, which can damage the grooves.

We recommend the palm-fibre (shuro) tawashi made by TAKADA TAWASHI ↗ (external site, opens in a new tab) in Kainan, Wakayama — a Japanese tawashi maker since 1948, whose craftsmen make each brush by hand from carefully selected palm fibre. The fibre is firm yet supple: it lifts out the dirt without scratching the surface of the bowl, and reaches into the grooves where a sponge cannot. It is the best tool we know for looking after a suribachi.

How to buy

Suribachi, tableware and other pieces can be seen in person and purchased at the gallery beside our workshop in Seto.
For restaurants and retailers, we welcome wholesale inquiries.

Visiting the gallery and workshop →

Wholesale and international trade →

Related pages Hongyo-yaki / Seto ware / About OUJIGAMA