This elegant Kiyomizu-yaki porcelain yuzamashi (湯冷まし - water cooler) is made in a hyōtan gourd shape and decorated in a style called sai-tokusa (彩十草), a colourful variation on the classic tokusa design of vertical lines inspired by horsetail grass. Each stripe is hand-painted in blue, green, and orange. Additionally, the rim has been gilded.

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 Kuramoto Masao (倉元 真佐夫) of Kōhō Kiln (光抱窯)

Kiyomizu-yaki (清水焼) (also called Shimizu-yaki) is a type of Japanese pottery that traditionally comes from Gojōzaka district near Kiyomizu Temple, in Kyoto, Japan. A subset of Kyo-yaki which refers to all pottery made in the Kyoto area, Kiyomizu ware has been produced since the 16th century

Dimensions:

10cm (3.9in) - width
4.5cm (1.8in) - height
110ml - capacity

Condition: New

This Japanese item ships from the United States.