Height 18.9cm, Bore 17.9-18.2cm, Bottom 13.8cm, Tokugawa Art Museum
　According to legend, this is said to have once belonged to Takeno Shao’o, and is probably the only famous Bizen suzuji (water jar) in Japan. After the Momoyama period (1573-1600), it was handed down to the Owari Tokugawa family and is now in the collection of the Tokugawa Art Museum. It is still unclear when Bizen began to produce pure tea ceremony utensils, but the presence of this suzuji suggests that pure tea ceremony utensils were already being produced in the Shao’o period. This is not a mere miscellaneous tea utensil taken up as a tea utensil, but clearly made as a mizusashi, as inferred from its well-formed style. The flat rim of the mouth is made to resemble a flume. The clay surface is hardened and lightly glazed with ash from the mouth to part of the body. The bottom of the vessel has a flat bottom, and there are traces of scraping. Although neat in appearance, the entire piece is thickly made, and is a simple piece typical of the Muromachi period. Since it is said to be in Shao’o’s possession, it is clear that it must have been made before his death in 1555 (Koji 1), and was probably made around the time of the astronomical period.
