Vessels are a form of craft which seem to have always held a deep relationship with food culture.
Today in Japan, worldwide dishes are served on family dining tables, and the traditional idea of “Japanese tableware” is fading. The forms of vessels for daily use seem to have diversified.
However, even in a turbulent time of change, there are several kinds of vessels that have survived regardless of fashion. When we consider these items as daily objects, it is quite obvious that they all have a simple, versatile design.

For instance, looking into the form of Soba Choko cups should be a good start.
The cup is designed to fit in one’s hand, and have enough depth to accommodate liquids. It is also designed to have a smaller diameter at the bottom than the rim, so that they can easily be piled up and stored. These features do not feel spectacular to us, but we have to admit that the potter who came up with this form must have been very perceptive.
Also, what is important to note is that the Soba Choko cup was originally created as one of the variations of a deep small bowl called Mukōzuke, rather than a vessel for Soba noodles. We now appreciate the Soba Choko cup as a vessel for the dipping sauce of Soba noodles (Soba-kiri), but it seems that the cup existed before the culture of eating Soba noodles become popular amongst common people. This means that the deeper form of a small bowl was appropriated as the vessel for dipping sauce for Soba noodles.

When we think of these trajectories, I wonder if the Soba Choko cup is perhaps not a vessel for which we should specify the use. Even though it is called “Soba” Choko, the true nature of this vessel may be that we are able to appropriate its use differently according to cultural changes in food.
Having pieces of fruit or sweets from Soba Choko cups. Drinking coffee, tea, Shochu or wine from Soba Choko cups. These are not wrong ways to use this cup.
Fundamentally, vessels are something personal. Rather than following the traditional way to use them, based on our own diet we should perhaps have the flexibility to select the way to use it. This is especially true when the design is universal like the Soba Choko cup. It is a vessel that one can use in a variety of ways.