Starbucks Nara mug: Discovery Series

What's on the mug

1. 1
   NARA

   The word NARA in red capitals on a dark green circle in the middle of the Front, between the standing stag and the leaf-wrapped sushi. It is the only place name printed on the mug. Starbucks Japan sells regional designs for 19 areas, and Nara is one of them.^[2]

2. 2
   Sika deer like those of Nara Park

   A standing orange stag with white spots, a pale blue chest and branched yellow antlers, and below it a pale blue resting deer with white spots lying in the grass; the stag also appears at the right edge of the Side photo. Sika deer roam freely in Nara Park and are protected there as a natural monument. The drawing shows no named spot in the park. The mug doesn't name it.^[3]

3. 3
   Kakinoha-zushi (sushi wrapped in persimmon leaves)

   Two yellow and orange leaf parcels above the green circle, one closed and one opened to show two pieces of fish on white rice, one red with white stripes and one dark red and pale blue. This is how kakinoha-zushi is made: a bite of vinegared rice with mackerel or salmon, wrapped in a persimmon leaf and pressed, a local dish of Nara Prefecture. The mug doesn't name it.^[6]

4. 4
   Bamboo tea whisk that may refer to Takayama chasen

   A tea whisk with a short red handle and a fan of fine yellow tines, hanging beside the sushi parcels near the handle. Takayama in Ikoma, Nara Prefecture, is the home of the traditional Takayama chasen whisks, and the whisk may refer to that craft. The drawing does not show a maker or a place. The mug doesn't name it.^[7]

5. 5
   Pair of socks that may refer to Nara's sock making

   Two dark red socks with ribbed orange cuffs, pale blue toes and heels and white stitch marks, hanging below the tea whisk. Koryo in Nara Prefecture was traditionally known for textiles, notably socks, and the pair may refer to that industry. The mug doesn't name a town or a maker.^[8]

6. 6
   Visitor feeding a deer, which looks like feeding deer crackers in Nara Park

   At the right edge of the Front, next to the handle, a person in a cap holds out something small to a young orange deer with white spots that stretches up toward the hand. Behind them a pond and a stream run through autumn trees, with two small deer grazing on pink ground. Visitors to Nara Park buy deer crackers to feed the deer, and the scene looks like that, but what the person holds is too small to identify. The mug doesn't name it.^[3]

7. 7
   Patterned dome-shaped mound Side view

   A dark red triangular mound covered in pink, yellow and light blue blocks, with two arched openings: one filled with orange dots, one with dark red dots on pink. Its left edge is also at the left of the Front photo. We could not match it to a named building or object.

8. 8
   Great Buddha of Todai-ji (Nara Daibutsu) Side view

   A large red seated Buddha with tightly curled hair, eyes closed, a pink-lined robe over one shoulder and legs crossed, in the middle of the Side photo; his shoulder is also at the right edge of the Back photo. Todai-ji in Nara is known for the Nara Daibutsu, a huge seated bronze Buddha, which the drawing echoes in its seated pose and curled hair. The drawn Buddha rests its hands in its lap and has no halo, where the statue sits in front of a large golden halo, and it is red, where the statue is dark bronze. The mug doesn't name it.^[4]

9. 9
   Camel that may refer to Nara's Silk Road treasures Side view

   A pink one-humped camel with a red mane and yellow patches stands on top of the dark red hill, at the upper left of the Side photo and the upper right of the Back photo. The Shosoin in Nara holds treasures whose designs came to Japan along the Silk Road, and the camel may stand for that link. The drawing gives no further clue. The mug doesn't name it.^[9]

10. 10
    Pampas grass that may refer to the Soni Plateau Side view

    Tall stems of yellow and orange pampas grass (susuki) with pink leaves at the base, bending across the Buddha's knee. The Soni Plateau in Nara Prefecture is covered in susuki grass in autumn, and the grass may refer to it, but pampas grass grows in many places. The mug doesn't name it.^[10]

11. 11
    Starbucks paper cup hidden in the grass Side view

    A small white cup with a green circle sits among the pink leaves at the foot of the pampas grass, below the standing stag. Starbucks Japan says each area design in this line hides a paper cup somewhere; this is the one on the Nara mug.^[1]

12. 12
    Mount Wakakusa grass burning (Yamayaki) with fireworks Back view

    A dark red hill with white dots, red and white fireworks bursting over it and small flames on its orange and yellow slopes, with little trees along a light blue stream below; the camel stands on its top, and its left end also shows at the left of the Side photo. Every January the dead grass on Mount Wakakusa in Nara is burned in the Yamayaki festival, which also has a fireworks display. The mug doesn't name it.^[5]

13. 13
    Somen noodles that may refer to Miwa somen Back view

    A large yellow oval dish of white and yellow wavy noodles, and beside it a red bowl with chopsticks lifting long thin noodles. Somen first developed in the Miwa district of Sakurai, Nara Prefecture, and the noodles may refer to that. The drawing shows no brand or place. The mug doesn't name it.^[11]

14. 14
    Goldfish scooping that may refer to Yamatokoriyama Back view

    A girl and a boy kneel at a shallow pink tank of water with small orange and yellow fish, the girl holding a round scoop and a small bowl in the water. Goldfish scooping is a festival game, and Yamatokoriyama in Nara Prefecture is known for raising goldfish and hosts a national goldfish-scooping championship; the scene may refer to that town. The mug doesn't name it.^[12][14]

15. 15
    Robed man with a sword who may be Prince Shotoku Back view

    A bearded man in a long orange robe with a red sash and a red cap, a straight sword at his waist and a small white tablet held up near his face, standing between the noodle dish and the dome on a stand. The best-known portrait of Prince Shotoku shows him in a red robe, holding a ceremonial tablet (shaku) with a straight sword at his waist, and the figure may be him; the drawn cap is red, where the portrait's is black, and the drawing does not name anyone.^[13]

16. 16
    Red and orange dome on a striped stand Back view

    A red and orange mound with white dots and white drips, in a yellow and orange striped cup on a round red stand with pink stripes, a little like a bowl of shaved ice; a long orange pole reaches it from behind the robed man's head. It is just right of the vertical STARBUCKS wordmark. We could not identify it.

The photos do not show the inside below the rim or the bottom of the mug and any base markings. The handle is on the right in the Front photo and on the left in the Back photo, so the narrow strip under the handle, between the person feeding a deer and the vertical STARBUCKS wordmark, is not in any photo.

Collector notes

• The catalog also lists a Been There Series Nara mug (been-there-nara). This Discovery Series design is the one with NARA in red capitals on a dark green circle, a red-lined interior and a red seated Buddha on the side.
• Starbucks Japan's launch material, as reported by Impress Gourmet Watch and Rurubu&more, says every area design in this line hides a paper cup; on this mug it is element 11, in the Side photo.
• Only the word NARA and the STARBUCKS wordmark are printed on the mug, so the names given here for the Buddha, the hill, the food and the crafts come from matching the drawing to sources, not from text on the mug.

Other Nara mugs

Different series, different mugs. Check the series name before you buy.

About the Discovery Series

• Discovery Series vs Been There Series: the differences
• How to display and store a Starbucks mug collection
• Where the hidden cup is on each Discovery Series mug
• Starbucks Discovery Series mugs list