The June issue of Ten-nen Seikatsu featured a sesame grinder which is made at the Kumao Ohta pottery in Koishiwara village, in Fukuoka prefecture. Koishiwara village has 350 years history in the ceramic industry, there are 50 potteries and they are especially famous for sesame grinders. And I really wanted to have the same one! So I ordered it by snail mail. This sesame grinder was also in a magazine called Ajibito (published by the Licensed Cook Society of Japan) and on TV, so I imagine that the Kumao Ota pottery has tons of orders by people who were completely taken in by the media, just like me. I thought that I would have to wait for a few months, but I received it one week after I ordered it. My sesame grinder is 8 sun (sun is an old japanese unit, 1 sun = 3.03cm) and it seems quite big, but I wouldn't mind to have one size bigger, which would be 1 shaku (1 shaku = 30.3cm) size.

After I opened the wrapping, I immediately liked the shape and colour of the bowl. But the shape is quite uneven and the grinding surface looks a little bit different from the magazine. So I was considering to return it and ask for a nicer one. But then I looked at the letter and the full-colour brochure which were enclosed in the packet and I realised my mistake: The letter was long and handwritten and quite personal and made me think about the beauty of hand-made products. I'm so easy to convince!

Now I read the magazine again and it said that quite a few people complain about imperfections of their grinder. That's me. C often says that I'm too picky to buy things on the Internet. I will still buy some manufactured products online, but maybe nothing handmade. I'm looking forward to use this grinder, but now I have to buy a wooden pestle to use it with.