Tea Kettle of Odare Type, Temmyo Ware, Iron

The name Temmyo is taken from the town of Temmyo in Sano city, Tochigi prefecture. Along with the town of Ashiya in Fukuoka prefecture, Temmyo was famous as a production center of masterpiece tea kettles during the Muromachi period. From the inscriptions around the shoulder, this kettle is thought to have been produced on December 8,1352, at the Jo-do-e ceremony celebrating Enlightenment of the Buddha, for use at the sub-temple of Gokuraku-ji temple, a Shingon Risshu sect temple located in Kamakura area. This is an important article as it is the sole extant example of dated ko-temmyo , ancient temmyo ware.