- Tetsubin
"Tetsubin" (鉄瓶) are
Japan esecast iron pots having pouring spout and handle crossing over the top, used for boiling and pouring hot water for drinking purposes, such as for makingtea . Because iron is released into the water, the water is appreciated as a dietary source of iron."Tetsubin" traditionally are heated over a charcoal fire. In the Japanese art of "chanoyu" (
Japanese tea ceremony ), the special portable brazier for this is the "binkake" (瓶掛) (seelist of Japanese tea ceremony equipment ). "Tetsubin" are often elaborately decorated withrelief designs on the outside. They range widely in size, and many have unusual shapes, making them popular with collectors. A relatively small "tetsubin" may hold around .5 litres of water; large ones may hold around 5 litres.The historical origin of the "tetsubin" is not certain [ [http://www.calacademy.org/research/anthropology/tetsubin/hist.html History of Tetsubins ] .] At last one authoritative Japanese source [原色茶道大辞典: Tankosha, 1975.] states that it developed from the spouted and handled water kettle called "tedorigama" that was already being used in "chanoyu" (see
Japanese tea ceremony ) in the era ofSen no Rikyū (1522-91). During the 19th century infused tea became more popular, and tetsubin were considered primarilystatus symbol s, rather than functional kitchen items. There is also a kind of relatively small cast iron pot that resembles a "tetsubin" but is glazed with enamel on the inside in order to lend itself to making brewed tea, and is referred to as an iron "kyūsu" (急須) or teapot. Most often, however, ceramic is used for making "kyūsu". "Kyūsu" often come with atea strainer that fits inside.The
prefectures of Iwate and Yamagata are best known for producing "tetsubin" as well as iron "kyūsu".ee also
*
Japanese tea ceremony
*Teakettle
*Cast iron cookware References
External links
*en icon and ja icon [http://www.suzukimorihisa.com/ Tetsubin Studio]
*en icon [http://www.JapansTea.com/ Japanese cast iron tea pots and tea sets.]
*ja icon http://www.kougei.or.jp/crafts/0801/special/ all about Nanbu ironworks
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