Tenmyo Tea Ceremony Kettle with Hailstone Pattern

  • Tenmyo, Sano, Tochigi pref.
  • Momoyama period
  • 16-17c
  • Cast iron
  • H-21.4 D-22
Catalogue Entry

So‐called Tenmyo kettles were made in Tenmyo, Sa‐no‐sho, Shimotsuke no kuni (present‐day Sano city, Tochigi prefecture). While Ashiya kettles were famous for their decorative patterns, by contrast, the Tenmyo kettles were known primarily for their rough, more rustic austerity.

This kettle has uneven hail‐stone patterns and a thick flange, revealing the austere characteristics of Tenmyo style. The holes for attaching handles are formed in a pine‐cone design seen in Momoyama and later periods, and this kettle overall looks like either a pine cone or a potato, strong and powerful in spite of its small scale.