15th century
Total height: 19.2 cm, side length of the ring: 10.8 cm, side length of the earth ring: 9.3 cm
As a manifestation of the belief in the use of relics, which began in the Nara period (710-794), a large number of five-ring pagoda-style relic vessels were produced from the late Heian period through the Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1333-1573). Many of them were made of gold body and crystal, and there were also examples of them being stored in storehouse vessels in addition to pagodas. This is one of the few ceramic vessels of this type, which is divided into two parts, a fire ring and a water ring, and has holes in the water and earth rings to hold the sharps. The top surfaces of the ku-fu and mizu-ji rings are covered with a light gray natural glaze.
