Japanese tea cup

Hello!

I've recently come into possession of a lovely Japanese tea cup, and I'm eager to learn more about it, but I've struggled to find sufficient sources on Japanese ceramics.

The cup features a mark with characters that are written from right to left, suggesting it might be from pre-WWII Japan, likely from the first half of the 20th century. However, the character inside the circle (越 ?) has left us with many questions. I assume it’s a relatively inexpensive item for its time, judging by the black specks on the surface and the transfer printing method used for the design.

If anyone has insights or knowledge about this specific mark or similar items, I would greatly appreciate your input. Thank you in advance!

 

Pretty,IMHO (just a knee-jerk reaction)-reminds me of Cost+ or Pier1 piece.But I'm far from an expert.

 

Here's what Google Translate has to say.

 

Is a transfer design. With those speckles in the body of the bowl, I think late 70s/early 80s because I remember lots of dishes, etc. with those brown speckles. I think it was to make them look more like stoneware. It was a fad.

 

I’m not sure whether these brown and black specks were a design element or it's just a flaw. Could they be the result of foreign inclusions, like iron, getting into the glaze or porcelain?

 

With most Japanese wares, it's not a flaw but a deliberate design element -- it is the type of clay body that they chose.