Is this Chinese tea bowl or sake bowl from Japan?

I'm not sure what to think of this one, is it Chinese or Japanese? The letters inside the cup looks Japanese to me, but outer writing confuses me. Any ideas?

sake cup and probably Japanese, is it porcelain or stoneware

It's definitely porcelain, you can see the light coming through when placed under the bulb.

hmmmmmmmm very interesting sake cup :) it's unusual with the writing inside....

What are the dimensions?

It is almost 2'' (5cm) tall, 1 6/8'' (4.3mm) at the base and 3'' (6.8cm) at the rim. Any ideas to the age? I know that it's a bit wishful thinking but maybe anyone knows what the writing means?

doesn't look like porcelain to be honest, looks like stoneware or such like, way too thick to see through it when under a light.

It could just about be a sake cup but most likely a small teacup from a set with a teapot going on the size.

Not really sure where it is from though - the base puts me off saying it is Japanese, suggesting that it is Korean or Chinese but in all honesty it could be from any of those places. I've had no joy with the characters I'm afraid.

It is porcelain, you can see the light all right, not through the bottom but on the sides. It also rings very nicely when gently tapped with a nail.

I agree, I hate to identify the letters from the alphabet I don't understand. I would rule out Korean though as their lettering is a bit characteristic with more square and oval writing. So going with the base it's Chinese, but this writing... It does look somehow Japanese.

The reason why I ask if is porcelain, because the base look like stoneware, but maybe finished with some type of clay texture or perhaps in firing process... Redware if your certain is porcelain, then it could well be Chinese

Redware wrote:I agree, I hate to identify the letters from the alphabet I don't understand. I would rule out Korean though as their lettering is a bit characteristic with more square and oval writing. So going with the base it's Chinese, but this writing... It does look somehow Japanese.

I wouldn't necessarily rule out Korean because the kanji (characters) when used on ceramics tend to be based on old Chinese (traditional) rather than modern characters. I do agree that the writing looks Japanese though. For me the foot is the problem as I don't recall seeing ash deposited on the foot of any Japanese pottery before - at least of what I am aware of.

I have posted the pictures to my cousin's Japanese language teacher so hopefully I will be able to narrow it down at least to the country.

So the bowl is from Japan. the writing inside says something about sixth year, however I have no idea what does it relates to... It could be a bthday present for a 6th bthday or something like that