Early Edo period (17th century)
Donated by the Homma family
The term “nanban mizusashi” refers to brown unglazed lidded water jars made in Vietnam and Thailand, and said to have been fired in the Ryukyu kilns. Indeed, Ryukyu ware is also known as “Nanban” or “Southern barbarian-style” ware as its production method originated in Southeast Asia.
On 15 July 1887, when the former lord of the Shōnai domain Sakai Tadamichi visited Seienkaku, his attendant and retainer Matsudaira Konjurō presented this jar to Kōbi, the sixth-generation head of the Homma family. The accompanying box is inscribed with the Sakai family’s storehouse number, “Ru-no-in 18th”.