Round Kyusu/Tea Pot (Matte Black)

Round and grounded — a shape that has sat unchanged on NANKEI's table for over fifty years.

The Round Kyusu from NANKEI POTTERY (南景製陶園) draws its form from the iron alms bowl carried by Buddhist monks — low, composed, with nothing decorative about it. This is the oldest and most enduring shape in the Banko-yaki tradition of Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, a shape NANKEI has kept unchanged for over fifty years. The stoneware clay is high in iron and blended specifically for tea, fired without glaze using the yakishime method: the iron content turns black in the kiln, and the unglazed interior leaves the fine surface texture open to the tea. That texture moderates astringency, rounds the flavour, and darkens slowly with every brew. An 18-8 stainless steel full-bottom mesh lets even the finest tea leaves pour freely, with a gap between mesh and body to keep leaves out of residual water — so second and third infusions stay clean.

At 240ml it is sized for a quiet one-to-two person session. Clean by rinsing; bleach lightly twice a year if you use it daily.

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South of Nagoya, along the shore of Ise Bay, Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture has been a centre for Banko-yaki since the eighteenth century. The city's iron-rich clay and long firing tradition gave rise to a distinct stoneware character — dense, unglazed surfaces that age quietly with use. 南景製陶園 (Nankei Pottery) has worked within this tradition for decades, using a proprietary clay formula that has remained unchanged for more than fifty years. High-temperature yakishime firing drives off virtually all porosity, leaving a body that is hard, smooth to the touch, and subtly warm in colour.

The forms Nankei designs are spare and considered — nothing added that does not serve the tea. A kyusu pours cleanly; a yunomi sits without fuss in the hand. That restraint comes not from minimal effort but from sustained attention to proportion and weight. If you want to learn more about the people behind the work, our Behind the Sip article on Nankei Pottery goes further: Nankei Pottery — Banko-yaki in Yokkaichi.