Mini masu cups are just as small as an ochoko cup which is also traditionally used in Japan for drinking sake, so it is a perfect alternative if you would like to try something instead of your usual ochoko cups.
The inner volume of the mini masu is about 0.0036L = 36ml, exactly 2 / 10th the volume of the one go wooden masu box.
Mini masu is recommended for anyone who doesn't want to drink a full cup of sake (180ml) from a standard, one go masu, and it's especially popular among women. You can see on the picture below that it's indeed a small sized masu cup, it looks tiny when placed on your palm, yet it's a full-fledged masu cup made of hinoki (Japanese Cypress) with the very same qualities as its bigger brothers: enchanting fragrance, the soft touch of wood, traditional Japanese structure.
Check out our video about the Mini Masu cups:
Compared to the standard sized, one go masu it looks indeed tiny and cute.
Mini masu near the mouse. Still looking tiny.
These masu cups are easy to hold in your hand,perfect for people who would like to enjoy sake little by little.
Placed on your palm it still looks little.
An interesting way to compare sizes: we call it "masuryoshka".
Starting from the innermost one: mini masu (3shaku), Standard masu, Large Masu, 1 shaku masu
【Product name/Model number】Mini Masu KAN-072
【Out side】49×49×41mm
【Inner side】34×34×33mm
【Inner Volume】33.5ml
【Material】Japanese cypress (Hinoki wood)
【Drinkware Type】Cups Saucers
【Feature】Eco-Friendly
【Place of Origin】Japan
【Type】Wood cup for SAKE
【Name Print】No Provided
【Position of putting a name】Surface
【Purpose】Ceremony
【Packaging Detail】Mini safe packing or upon your request
Packing size indication
| Number | Size | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| 150 | W:600×D:450×H:250mm | 7.2kg |
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A simple, nice paper box for protecting the masu cups from scratches.
It's also very useful if you would like to use the masu cups as a gift to someone. -
Order a transparent, stringed plastic bag for each of your freshly purchased masu cups.
These bags are perfect for people who would like to take their masu cups home they have used them.
Air drying
The lumber that’s used for manufacturing masu cups undergoes a process of natural drying either indoors for a maximum of 4 months or outdoors for maximum of 1 month depending on both the quality, condition of the hinoki wood and the weather of the actual season as well. The goal of the drying the hinoki is to decrease the moisture content of the wood to a level that is appropriate for the manufacturing process. The gist of the process is to create a stack of the lumber on raised foundations and dry it gradually with a continuous flow of air. The loss of moisture inevitably causes the shrinkage of the hinoki wood, so it needs to be controlled with care as too rapid drying may lead to damaging the wood. If the lumber is considered dried, then it’s ready for manufacturing.
Cutting
In this step, the lumber is cut into pieces of uniform size and shape by a machine that also shaves both sides of the lumber thoroughly. Each and every piece is checked for any faults like wood knots, deformations etc. and these faulty pieces are removed before sending them to the next manufacturing phase. Hinoki (Japanese Cypress) is a relatively expensive wood. Throughout the whole cutting process craftsman aim to leave as low waste as possible since they would like to offer their products on a low price and they would like to be ecologically conscious too.
Joinery
After cutting the parts of the masu cups into the right sizes and shaving them nicely, the joinery work starts, finger tenons are cut into all of them for joining together all four sides of the masu cups. The cutting edge of the tenon cutter machine is polished every day for keeping it as sharp as possible, since this helps to make the quality of the masu cups especially good.
Frame assembly
The tenons of the sides of the masu cups are first glued with an adhesive that’s harmless to the human body after dried, and then these side pieces are placed into the frame assembly machine that presses all 4 sides together. Next the frame is checked again visually for any kinds of faults like the assembled frame being too frail, wood knots etc. and these defected pieces are removed from the production. Checking is a vital part of every production step. Concerning the safety of the adhesive used in the production, we have 2 safety certifications: one is issued by JFRL “Japan Food Research Laboratories” http://www.jfrl.or.jp/e/ and the other one is issued by JCII “Japan Chemical Innovation and Inspection Institute” http://www.jcii.or.jp/en/ both documents are in Japanese. Please contact us if you would like to acquire the English versions of any of these documents.
Planing
All the surfaces of the assembled frames are leveled using a so-called “planer disk”, the machine displayed above.
In this step, Japanese craftsmen don’t need to take a look at the masu frames; they know exactly when the surfaces of the frames are perfect by the slight change in the sound of the planing. After the frames are planed, the bottom of the cups is glued to the frames to make the masu cups complete. Besides paying attention for the surfaces, the craftsmen take care to produce masu cups of uniform size. Moreover, after this process every masu cup is checked again for defects like cracks etc. and defected products are removed from the process.
Finishing touches
In this step the masu cups are briefly put into water so that the joints get a little swollen which makes the gluing hold even better and it gives the masu cups a little gloss as well. Then all four sides of the masu cups are planed once again equally to make them completely smooth using an even finer "planer disk".
Edge shaping
The goal of this process is to make the touch of the masu cups even better so anyone who uses these cups can feel good when taking them in hand. 10 pieces of masu cups are processed at once in this step; it’s yet again a good example for the expertise of the craftsmen manufacturing them. Since this is the final manufacturing process, the masu cups undergo a final, very throughout check before they are declared completely finished.
Storing
The finished wooden masu cups are stored in a cool dry place until they are shipped.
Packing
Right before shipping, every 5 piece of masu cups is wrapped in thin brown kraft wrapping paper and they are placed in a cardboard box. For worldwide shipments the cardboard box is then placed into an even bigger cardboard box with some cushioning materials to protect the masu cups on their way to your country.
We sincerely hope that we can deliver the warmth of traditional Japanese wooden masu cups to as many customers around the globe as possible. They don’t come empty; they are filled to the rim with the spirit of all the people who deliver them to you. Please enjoy the unique experience of MASU!
Mini Masu KAN-072| 1 pc KAN-072: | USD 3.75 |
| 30 pcs KAN-072-30: | USD 100.50 |
| 50 pcs KAN-072-50: | USD 162.50 |
| 100 pcs KAN-072-100: | USD 315.00 |
The Masu selling company is shipping masu cups to customers both in Japan and worldwide. Recently we are getting more and more orders from not just individuals, but organizations, Japanese restaurants, international companies making a business opening ceremony Japanese style by opening a barrel of sake and drinking its contents from masu cups. An excellent way of drinking Japanese sake is to do it from a freshly made masu cup. That may be the reason why Japanese people cherish a rather intimate connection with these small wooden boxes from the old times. We would like to share the best parts of traditional Japanese culture with as much people around the globe as possible.
+ The glue or wood sap that has stack on the surface of the masu cups cannot be washed down with water
(both are completely harmless, so please don’t try to remove them by washing or soaking them in water)
+ Although it’s possible to disinfect the masu cups by filling them with hot water for some seconds, it’s not necessary since
Kiso hinoki has natural germicidal properties
+ If you would like to disinfect the masu cups, then do it by filling them with boiling water for some seconds right before use
+ Avoid exposing the masu cups to anything that would cause them to dry too rapidly like: direct sunlight, direct heat or any place of high temperature, fire
+ Never put the masu in a fridge, refridgerator, dishwasher, microwave oven or any oven or home appliances at all
+ Clean the masu cups with a barely wet or completely dry cloth if needed
+ If you would like to wash the masu cups, then do it with hot water in a very short time period, wipe them dry afterwards as soon as possible and let them dry completely in a well-ventilated, cool place
+ Please note that masu cups are originally meant to be used only one time, therefore due to the shrinkage or swelling of the wood by this one use, some leakage of the contents may occur on any forthcoming uses
+ Please be assured that the adhesive that is used for assembling the masu cups has no health risks if you use the cups in the way they are meant to be used
Hello, Mate,
We have received the shipment earlier today, safe and before schedule.
The mini masu cups are beautifully made, and exactly as expected!
Thank you so much for your personal care and attention for our order.
I hope to be able to do business with you and event21 again soon.
Best wishes, and thank you again,
こんにちはマーテーさん、
本日、小包が安全に届きまして、日程よりも早く受け取りました。
ミニ枡は期待通りにとても美しくできています。
私達の注文に懇切丁寧に対応して頂き誠にありがとうございました。
又マーテーさんとイベント21とビジネスできる機会をお待ちしております。
再度お礼を申し上げます。
宜しくお願い致します。
Thank you very much for your e-mail and for sending me a picture too.
I’m very happy to know that you are satisfied with the quality of the mini masu cups
and I’m glad to know that you have liked our level of service as well.
We are very keen on providing the best possible service to our customers.
Please contact us if you happen to need anything from Japan again regardless of what it is.
We are looking forward to doing business with you again.
With best wishes,
メールも写真も誠にありがとうございます。
ミニ枡の品質にご満足頂き、私達のサービスのレベルを気に入って頂きありがとうございます。
実に嬉しいです。
私達はお客様にできる限りの高いサービスを提供する事をとても大切にしています。
次回日本から何か必要な時も、その物何なのかに関わらず、ぜひ声をお掛けください。
コチラこそ又ビジネスをできる機会をお待ちしております。
宜しくお願い申し上げます。
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ミニ枡
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Small masu
Small masu
Its inner volume is exactly the half of the one go masu,
which means that its inner volume is 0.09L = 90ml, rougly a mouthful of sake. Perfect for wedding ceremonies and parties of any kind. 
Large masu
Large Masu
The volume of a Large Masu is roughly the same as a rice cooker. Its uses vary: measuring container, box for storing CDs and books or as a stylish wooden interior piece. A Large Masu could also be very handy on any ceremony or celebration.
You could fill it with sake to the rim, pass it around and let everyone drink from it.
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Medium masu
Medium masu
At first sight, the Medium masu cup looks just like a standard size, one go masu.
It's inner volume is about 0.143L = 143ml, equal to a half full standard glass cup. -
Standard masu
Standard masu
This is the most common, standard sized masu cup. From old times, masu cups of this size are used for drinking sake on celebrations in Japan.
Since the masu cups were used for measurement as well, its name comes from the traditional
Japanese unit of go, which is equal to the volume of approximately 0.1804L = 180.4ml.
For comparison please note that a usual glass cup in Japan has a volume of about 200ml.
Picture masu
Extra-large masu
Extra-large masu
One sho is a volume unit in Japan, equal to 10 go, which means that it's 1.804L = 1800ml. It's roughly the same volume as a 2L PET bottle. In Japan sake is still sold in 1.8L bottles called one sho bottle (isshoubin) in Japanese.
Custom branded masu
You can get you very own logo or design branded the masu cups.
Designs branded on your masu can be done on all four sides on the masu cups.
Masu cups for custom branding are also available in various sizes:
Mini masu, Small masu, Medium masu, Standard masu, Large Masu, Extra-large masu
