Seiko Kyusu, Japanese Teapot

Seiko Kyusu. A night-sky blue with a handle at the back.

The Seiko Kyusu is a Tokoname teapot in a glossy deep blue glaze speckled with lighter blue like a starry sky, on a squared-off body with a straight spout. Unlike our side-handle pots it has a squared handle at the back, opposite the spout, the way a Western teapot does. Inside, a curved fine mesh covers the spout opening and holds back the leaves as you pour. The lid carries the same speckle with a copper-brown rim. At 400 ml it pours three or four cups, a pot for a table.

Tokoname, in Aichi Prefecture, is Japan's teapot capital and one of its oldest pottery towns, with about 900 years of kiln history. Its iron-rich red clay, shudei, is known for softening tannin, which is why tea people seek out a Tokoname kyusu.

Made in Tokoname, Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Volume: 400 ml

Care: empty the leaves after each pot, rinse with hot water only, no detergent, and dry with the lid off.

Please note: shape, colour and capacity vary a little from pot to pot. That is the nature of handmade Japanese ceramics.

Ships Australia-wide and worldwide, with free Australian shipping on orders over $100. See the full range of Japanese teapots, or read how to choose a kyusu if this is your first pot.