Height: 7.0 – 7.3cm
Diameter: 14.5 – 14.7cm
Outer diameter of foot: 4.7cm
Height: 1.5 – 1.6cm
The Koido teacup is famous for its high quality, and the Rokujizo, Roso and Bousui teacups are particularly well known, but the Koishio teacup is also considered to be of a high quality. It is thought that Matsudaira Fumai treasured it because of its elegant dignity, and so if it had been passed down in the world like other tea bowls, it would have gained even greater renown.
However, the shape and glaze of this tea bowl are so gentle that some people may find it a little lacking in the strength that is characteristic of well tea bowls.
The characteristic of this tea bowl is that the opening is relatively wide compared to the height, and although it is small, the foot is high, making it the most well-proportioned small tea bowl. The glaze is a little thin, so the craquelure is not very rough. The color tone is elegant and varied, and the white glaze with a hint of blue is particularly beautiful. There are no marks on the inside of the bowl, and the rim is decorated with a spiral pattern. There are six marks on the foot ring.
It was originally owned by Kobori Enshu, and the four characters “Ido Kosio” on the inside box lid were written by him. On the inside of the lid, he also wrote the following poem from the Shingi-uta section of the “Zokuzenshu” anthology: “Fudaba yori kami wo zo tanomu wo shiho yama ware mo ahi wo hi no matsu. is written on the underside of the lid by Enshu Kobori, and it is thought that this was probably a tea bowl discovered by Enshu. It was later owned by the Horita Sagaminosuke family, and then in the Kansei era it was sold to the Matsudaira Fumai family for 300 ryo. It appears in the “Fushimiya Kakusho” and the “Unshu Meibutsu Ki”.
According to the ‘Dai-en-an Tea Gathering Records’, this tea bowl was used in the third and seventh years of the Bunka era, and the records of the gathering are as follows.
April 15th, 1806, Dokurakuan, Master: Matsudaira Fumai, Guest: Imamiya Soryo, Koji Issai
Hanging scroll: Sekishitsu Kasen Zenji, 7-syllable poem
Vase: Manryaku-dyeing, peony
Tea container: Seiai, large jujube
tea bowl, well, inscribed with the name of Enshu, Kosio
May 19th, 1810, noon, Dokkakuan, host: Matsudaira Fumai, guest: Lord, Neage Yoshie, Kiriya Hachiemon
hanging scroll, letter from Sarikei
vase, Manryaku-sometsuke, flowers, iris
tea caddy, Takanohaya, bag, amaranth
Tea bowl, Koshiroido, replacement tea bowl, underglaze cloud and dragon design
The tea party, where the letter from Sarri in the 7th year of Bunka was hung on the floor, was a perfect match for Koshiroido, and the tea was served in thin tea using a replacement tea bowl with an underglaze cloud and dragon design.
(Hayashiya Seizo)
