Excavated from Hanabusa Daini Sutra Mound, Hanabusa Bessho-machi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto
12th century
Height 34.2cm (lid) 10.4cm, diameter 33.0cm (body) 28.5cm, mouth diameter 23.3cm, bottom diameter 21.0cm
Tokyo National Museum
This item was brought out from one of the Hanabusa Sutra Mounds together with another ceramic casing, a shadow blue goji, and a gilt bronze dokko pestle, and has long been famous for its form and gorgeous design. The lid is larger in diameter than the body, but they are both lids.
The grayish-brown color of the base, which is slightly sandy, indicates that it was produced by the Atsumi kiln. The body is cylindrical in shape with a slightly stretched body, and a peony arabesque design is painted in fine lines in the style of nail engraving around the center of the outer surface. The lid has a flattened conical shape, with a step carved out at the border between the flat upper surface and the diagonally descending shoulder. In the center of the slope, there is a parallel line with a peony design carved between the upper level and the lower level. The pottery is quite well finished, but the natural ash had not yet melted away, leaving it with a pale yellowish-white skin. A sutra case with the inscription “Nipyo 3 (1153)” was found in the third sutra mound, and it is safe to say that this piece is approximately the same age as the sutra case.
