Shimamono (島物, "island objects") is a generic term for Japanese tea utensils produced outside Japan, Korea and China, mainly from Southeast Asia.
They were imported with ships on trade routes and started becoming popular in the 15th and 16th centuries.
By the time of the rule of the Shōgun Tokugawa Yoshimune, imitation shimamono were also produced in Japan.
However, at this point they were called "striped objects", but the pronunciation remained the same.
The treatise Tōkikō describes the Japanese pottery trade with Asia and gives detailed descriptions.