Japanese side plates and mamezara

The small plates a Japanese table is built on: side plates for a garnish, a few pickles or a piece of grilled fish, and mamezara, literally “bean plates”, for soy sauce, wasabi or a dab of dipping oil. Because they are used several at a time and rarely need to match, they are the easiest place to bring colour to a setting. Ours come from Hasami, Mino and Kutani. See also our Dinner plates and Plate sets collections.

See how each shape is used in our guide to Japanese plates, pair them with our kobachi small bowls, or browse the full Japanese plates and tableware collections.