A great masterpiece. A karamono katatsuki tea caddy. It was once in the possession of the monk Gyokudo, hence the name. Although the rich ground color makes the scenery lack brilliance, this tea caddy has a calm and dignified appearance and is grand in spirit. It was originally owned by Ouchi Yoshitaka and later donated to Ryufukuji Temple in Yamaguchi. In 1551, the temple’s abbot, Gyokudo Kazusho, escaped with this tea caddy during the Toh Seiken rebellion and escaped to the Otomo family in Kyushu, but later sold it to Hariya Munewa in Kyoto. According to “Tsuda Munenori Chayu Nikki” and “Sotan Nikki,” it was used in tea ceremonies held by Hariya Munekazu in 1577 and 1587. It later came into the possession of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, who decorated the tea caddy in the Ishigaki-yama camp during the battle of Odawara in 1590, according to “Shinsho Taikoki”. After Hideyoshi, the tea caddy was passed back and forth between the shoguns and the Asano family several times, from Asano Nagamasa, Tokugawa Ieyasu, Asano Nagaaki, Tokugawa Iemitsu, and Asano Mitsuaki, and on May 18, 1672, Hikaru presented it to shogun Ietsuna, and on September 25, 1700, when Tsunayoshi visited the Mito residence, it was secretly given to Tsunajo Mito. It has been in the Mito family ever since. Incidentally, Gyokudo was the ninety-second head of Daitokuji Temple, whose name was Sojo, and died on January 17, 1561, at the age of 82. Chajo Meijikan”, “Chayu Kojidan”, “Taisho Meijikan”)
