Muromachi period (15th century)
Donated by the Homma family
Seto ware pottery is believed to have originated during the Kamakura period, when Kagemasa Katō Shirōzaemon (alias Fujishirō) introduced the technique of glazed ceramics to Japan from China. “Kinkazan” here refers a type of pottery developed by third-generation Fujishirō potter around the Einin era (1293–1299). By the Muromachi period, Kinkazan wares such as this tea container were being fired at kilns located at the foot of Mount Kinka in Gifu Prefecture, Japan.
This particular tea container is said to have belonged to Fuhaku Kawakami (1719–1807), a tea master who promoted the Senke School of tea ceremony. It was later handed down to the Homma family by Ryōya Shirasaki, a local historian in Sakata.