Iron kettle - Tetsubin

Mainly made of cast iron, it is a utensil for boiling tea by placing it directly over a fire. It has a spherical, cylindrical or flat circular body like a dobin, with a spout and handle. The lid is often made of cast iron like the body, or copper. The body usually has a pattern cast into it, but some have gold and silver inlay. In general, they are more elaborately designed than tea kettles. There is also a type called a kuchi, which has a piece of iron lacquered on the inside bottom, designed to make a sound when the water boils.

One type of kettle used in the tea ceremony is the tedori kettle, which has three legs and a spout and handle, and is generally considered to be the prototype of the iron kettle. In Morioka, Iwate Prefecture, a kettle maker from the Nanbu clan first produced a clay pot-shaped tea kettle in the mid-Edo period, and this is considered to be the ancestor of the Nambu iron kettle. However, there are many examples in documents from the end of the 16th century (such as the Yugama Yuso) where a cast iron water boiler similar to modern iron kettles is written as a "clay pot," and it is thought that they may have been produced separately from the tedori kettle, inspired by ceramic clay pots used for medicinal baths. It is also said that Ryumondo in Kyoto was the first to produce an iron kettle using a wax mold in the mid-Edo period.

In any case, it was not until the Edo period that the iron kettle itself was perfected and became widespread. Since the name "iron kettle" does not appear in encyclopedias and dictionaries from the early Edo period, such as the illustrated encyclopedia "Wakan Sansai Zue" published in 1713 (Shotoku 3), the name probably became commonly used from the mid-Edo period onwards.

Besides Kyoto and Osaka, the main production areas are Morioka, the castle town of the Nanbu clan in Iwate Prefecture, where the kettle is called "Nambu iron kettle." This kettle is made from iron sand and was loved because it does not emit any iron. Other well-known areas include Yamagata City and Oshu City (Iwate Prefecture).

[Moriya Masahisa and Ito Munehiro]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

おもに鋳鉄でつくられ、直接火にかけて湯茶を沸かす用具。土瓶と同じような球形、または筒形、平円形の胴に注口(つぎぐち)と鉉(つる)が付属する。蓋(ふた)は胴と同じく鋳鉄製か、あるいは銅製が多い。胴には地文を鋳出するのが普通であるが、なかには金銀の象眼(ぞうがん)を施すものもある。一般に、茶の湯釜(がま)に比べて意匠を凝らすことが多い。また口元といい、内底に鉄片を漆で貼(は)り、湯が沸くときに音を発するようなくふうをしたものがある。

　茶の湯に用いる釜の一種に、三足で注口と鉉のついた手取(てどり)釜があるが、一般にこれが鉄瓶の祖型とされる。岩手県盛岡では、江戸時代中期に、南部藩の釜師が初めて土瓶形の茶の湯釜を製造し、これが南部鉄瓶の祖とされる。しかし、16世紀末の文献には、明らかに現在の鉄瓶に類した鋳鉄製の湯沸かし器を「土瓶」と記した例も多く（『湯釜由緒』など）、手取釜とは別に、薬湯用の陶製の土瓶からヒントを得て製作されたとも考えられる。また、京都の竜文(りゅうもん)堂は、江戸中期に、初めて蝋(ろう)の鋳型を用いて鉄瓶を製作したと伝える。

　いずれにせよ、鉄瓶自体が完成し普及したのは江戸時代に入ってからのことである。1713年（正徳3）刊の図説百科辞書『和漢三才図会』など、江戸初期の事典・辞書類には、鉄瓶の名はみえないから、その名称は、江戸中期以降に一般的になったのであろう。

　主産地としては、京都・大阪のほかに、岩手県の南部藩城下町であった盛岡が著名であり、「南部鉄瓶」とよばれている。これは砂鉄を原料とし鉄気(かなけ)が出ないことで愛用された。このほか、山形市、奥州(おうしゅう)市（岩手県）などが知られている。

［森谷尅久・伊東宗裕］

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