Icchin Shippo Yuzamashi - 90ml

This elegant Kiyomizu-yaki porcelain yuzamashi (湯冷まし - water cooler) is made in a hyōtan gourd shape and is hand-decorated with the auspicious shippo (七宝) crest using the icchin (イッチン) technique. Icchin involves loading slip (liquid clay) into a piping bag, and trailing it onto the pot to create designs with dimension. On this piece, each shippo-mon is further accented by alternating dots of silver and gold at their centre. Yuzamashi are used to cool down boiling water to a temperature more suitable for brewing green tea. When poured into a yuzamashi, boiling water cools to roughly 90°C, which then will cool to roughly 80°C when poured into a cold teapot. To cool water further, you can either let it sit in the yuzamashi for longer, or pour it into cups and then into the teapot. This yuzamashi was made by Takashima Shinichi (高島 慎一) of Kōshun Kiln (洸春窯), a third generation potter who specialises in cochin-style wares (kōchi-yaki).