Seto Water Jar with Ears

Seto Mimitsuki Mizusashi: An Edo-Period Tea Ceremony Water Jar at Tokyo National Museum

Tucked away among the vast holdings of the Tokyo National Museum in Ueno is a quiet, cylindrical ceramic vessel that captures the spirit of Japanese tea aesthetics in its most understated form. The Seto Mimitsuki Mizusashi (Seto ware fresh-water jar with handles) is a rare survivor from the Seto kiln of the Edo period, prized for its restrained beauty and the subtle drama created by two glazes flowing across its surface. Designated as a Registered Art Object (Toroku Bijutsuhin) by Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, this work invites visitors to slow down and appreciate the quiet pleasures of Japanese ceramic art.

What Is a Mizusashi?

A mizusashi is a lidded vessel used in chanoyu, the Japanese way of tea, to hold fresh cold water during a tea gathering. The host uses this water to replenish the kama (iron kettle) and to rinse tea utensils. While simple in function, the mizusashi is one of the most visually prominent objects in the tea room, and the host carefully selects one whose form, material, and seasonal feeling harmonize with the gathering's theme.

Mizusashi may be made of ceramic, lacquered wood, bare wood, glass, or metal. Ceramic examples, in particular, have been celebrated since the rise of wabi tea aesthetics in the 16th century, when Japanese kilns such as Seto, Bizen, Iga, and Shigaraki began producing pieces specifically for tea use.

A Closer Look at This Work

This particular mizusashi takes the form of a tsutsugata, a tall cylindrical vessel. Standing 16.5 cm high with a mouth diameter of 15.4 cm and a base diameter of 14.4 cm, it has an upright, almost architectural presence. On either side of the body, the potter has applied two small handles modeled to resemble cut sections of bamboo. These bamboo-shaped handles, called mimi (literally "ears"), are a beloved motif in Japanese tea ceramics, evoking the natural materials of the tea garden.

The clay body is somewhat rough and unrefined, deliberately so. Over the exterior the potter has first applied a dark iron glaze (tetsuyu), then poured a paler ash glaze (kaiyu) over it, allowing the second glaze to flow and pool unpredictably. The result is a quiet drama of color and texture: deep umber and amber tones intermingle, with veils of cream where the ash glaze has settled. The base is left flat and unglazed, exposing the bare clay. A black lacquered wooden lid (urushi no nuributa) accompanies the piece.

Why This Piece Is Treasured

The Seto kiln in present-day Aichi Prefecture is one of the Six Ancient Kilns of Japan and has produced ceramics continuously since the Heian period. While Seto is best known for the high-quality tea wares of the medieval period — Ko-Seto tea caddies and Kiseto plates among them — its Edo-period output is far less celebrated. By the 17th century, the rise of porcelain production in Arita had pulled much of the market away from the older stoneware kilns, and surviving Edo-period Seto tea ceramics are comparatively rare.

This water jar matters because it preserves the spirit of earlier tea-ware traditions while showing the relaxed, naturalistic touch typical of Edo Seto. The honest, unaffected throwing, the deliberate roughness of the clay, the layered glazes that celebrate accident over precision — all express the wabi-sabi aesthetic of finding beauty in the imperfect and the impermanent. As a tea-ceramic example from late 17th- to 18th-century Seto, it offers material evidence of how the kiln's tradition continued to evolve well after its medieval heyday.

In June 2013, the work was registered as a Toroku Bijutsuhin (Registered Art Object) under a system established in 1998 to expand public access to outstanding artworks. Under this system, the Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs registers works that meet criteria of historical, artistic, or academic value, and registration requires that the piece be publicly displayed at an accredited museum. The Tokyo National Museum thus serves as both custodian and public stage for this quietly remarkable vessel.

Highlights to Notice

When viewing the Seto Mimitsuki Mizusashi in person or in detailed photographs, several features reward close attention. The contrast between the dark iron glaze and the lighter ash glaze creates what tea connoisseurs call yo-gawari, or "kiln variation" — the unpredictable patterns that emerge from the firing process. The bamboo-shaped handles invite the eye to imagine the host lifting the lid during a tea gathering. The deliberately rough texture of the body, visible especially around the unglazed foot, speaks to the potter's confidence in letting the clay show itself.

The matching lacquered lid is also worth noting. Many ceramic mizusashi are paired with custom-made lacquered wooden lids when they lack a matching ceramic top, and the choice of lid shape, color, and finish is itself part of the aesthetic conversation between owner, host, and craftsman.

Visiting the Tokyo National Museum

The Seto Mimitsuki Mizusashi is held in the collection of the Tokyo National Museum, Japan's oldest and largest museum, founded in 1872 and situated at the northern edge of Ueno Park. The museum complex consists of multiple buildings, including the Honkan (Japanese Gallery), Toyokan (Asian Gallery), Heiseikan, Hyokeikan, and the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures. Ceramic works are typically displayed in the Honkan on the first floor or in rotating thematic exhibitions; please note that not every object in the collection is on display at any given time, so checking the museum's website for current exhibitions is recommended before visiting.

The museum is a five- to ten-minute walk from JR Ueno Station's Park Exit. Standard opening hours are 9:30 to 17:00, with extended hours until 19:00 on Fridays and Saturdays, and the museum is closed on Mondays (or the following day if Monday falls on a public holiday) as well as during the New Year period. Admission to the regular galleries is modest, while special exhibitions are ticketed separately. Audio guides and English-language signage make the collection accessible to international visitors.

Around the Museum

Ueno Park itself is one of Tokyo's most rewarding cultural districts. Within a short walk you can visit the National Museum of Western Art, the National Science Museum, the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, and Ueno Zoo. The park also contains historic shrines and temples, including Ueno Toshogu Shrine and Kiyomizu Kannon-do.

For those particularly interested in ceramics and tea culture, an hour's train ride brings you to the historic potters' districts of Mashiko in Tochigi Prefecture, while the Nezu Museum and Hatakeyama Memorial Museum in central Tokyo both hold superb tea-utensil collections. After the museum, the streets around Ueno and nearby Yanaka offer traditional Japanese sweets shops, tea houses, and craft galleries — a fitting end to a day spent contemplating Japan's tea aesthetic.