A great masterpiece. An old Seto tea caddy with a spear sheath. This tea caddy is named for its slender shape, which resembles the sheath of a spear. The “Meimono Meiribunsho” (Meimono Meiribunsho) says that it has a “Taikoh inscription” and the Unshu Matsudaira Family book “Chairi Meimono Ki” says that it has a “Rikyu inscription”. One theory is that Akechi Mitsuharu gave this tea caddy to Hideyoshi’s troops in the sheath of his spear during his final days at Sakamoto Castle, hence the inscription, but this is probably a later addition. It is a beautiful and incomparable masterpiece, with fine black spots on the persimmon color, a little yellow mixed in with the black inner candy, a face on the left shoulder, and a strong golden atmosphere. It is said that when Enshu Kobori was a magistrate in Fushimi, he used to enjoy seeing this tea master when he came to Kyoto. Izutsuya favored this tea master very much. Izutsuya loved this tea master so much that he kept him by his side day and night.
When Izutsuya’s finances began to suffer, he finally sold it to Mitsui Hachiroemon, but kept the box in his possession. However, when he finally realized that there was no hope of that happening, he gave the box and the tea caddy to the buyer, saying that he would like to see the box and the tea caddy together again. During the Kansei era (1789-1801), Matsudaira Fumai purchased it for 2,500 ryo (about the same amount of money at that time), or 1,656 ryo (about the same amount as the actual price), 2 shu 3 monme 5 rin (about 2 shu per minute). Among the many tea containers in his collection, the oil lamp shoulder piece was placed in the Itawashirogo-Bokuseki as a Hanseki (great seal), and the spear sheath shoulder piece was placed in the Bureki-Kyodo Bokuseki as a Japanese great seal. (Ganmono Meibutsu Ki, Meibutsu Ki, Seto Toki Banroku, Rimpo Kameryu, Gokusu Meirisho, Chawanwa Mimukai O, Machin Koumiroku, Taisho Meikikan,)
