Overhead-bail pot
Also called 上手急須Also called 藤把茶壶
A ceramic pot with an overhead bail handle attached to lugs on the shoulders. The handle may be made from a different material from the body. Dobin include vessels for tea and other preparations, so a particular example’s use should be identified rather than assumed from the handle alone.
On this page
- 1Handle
- 2Knob
- 3Lid
- 4Spout
- 5Body
- 6Base
Form#
- Body
- globular, melon-lobed, or flat-shouldered drum body (丸形或扁鼓形) in glazed stoneware or porcelain; flameproof earthenware versions (chagama-dobin / yakan-dobin) have an unglazed soot-resistant bottom for direct charcoal heating123
- Spout
- upward-curving tubular spout (管状流) rising from the shoulder, backed inside by multi-hole clay perforations (蜂巣穴) or a basket strainer
- Handle
- twin upright pierced ceramic lugs (立耳 / 穿孔双耳) on the shoulder holding an arching removable woven bamboo, rattan (藤编提梁), or vinyl-wrapped metal bail handle
- Lid
- inset (落し蓋) or cap lid (被せ蓋) seated low so it clears the overhead bail
- Knob
- low button or ring knob (珠つまみ) with a steam vent hole
- Base
- wide circular ring foot (圈足 / 高台)
Compare an object photograph · Burke Museum / University of Idaho · HJCCC-185
Working volume#
Use the volume to the intended fill level, rather than the exterior dimensions or shape name. Leave room for the leaves and lid, and choose cups or a serving pitcher that can receive a complete infusion. Two pots of the same named form may have very different working capacities.
Variants and sub-types#
| Name | 日本語 | Difference | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bancha / Kyo-yaki Dobin (standard ceramic dobin) | 番茶土瓶・京焼土瓶（上手急須） | Glazed stoneware or porcelain globular pot with two upright shoulder lugs (耳・環付) and a removable arched bamboo, rattan, or vine bail handle (竹鉉・藤鉉), used for high-temperature bancha, hōjicha, and everyday sencha | 123 |
| Bōfura / Yuwakashi (senchadō ceramic kettle) | ボーフラ（保夫良・湯沸） | Thin-walled unglazed white or red fireproof clay kettle made in Kyoto/Kiyomizu and Banko for boiling water over a charcoal brazier (涼炉 ryōro) in senchadō; made with either an overhead ceramic bail (上手ボーフラ) or a hollow side handle (横手ボーフラ) | 12 |
| Dobin-mushi (broth-steaming pot) | 土瓶蒸し（どびんむし）器 | Small flame-resistant low-bellied dobin whose knobbed cap lid inverts to serve as a drinking cup (猪口); evolved from Edo sencha utensils into a autumn matsutake broth steamer | 12 |
| Mashiko Sansui / Mingei Dobin (folk-craft teapot) | 益子山水土瓶・民藝土瓶 | Thick-walled wheel-thrown stoneware dobin decorated with iron-brown and cobalt brushwork over translucent slip (窓絵山水土瓶, begun at Mashiko by Minagawa Masu and praised by Yanagi Sōetsu), holding 500–900 mL for household tea | 12 |
History#
- Edo to Meiji JapanEvolving from earthenware medicinal decoction kettles (薬缶 / 土瓶), ceramic dobin with bamboo bail handles were mass-produced at 信楽 (Shigaraki), 益子 (Mashiko), 美濃 (Mino), and 有田 (Arita) for household tea service and railway station tea boxes (汽車土瓶).2
- 1895–1970s TaiwanIntroduced during the Japanese colonial era and produced on a large scale at Miaoli, Nantou, and Yingge kilns (苗栗陶、莺歌烧), the rattan-handled ceramic 土瓶 became the ubiquitous household teapot across Taiwan prior to the late-1970s small-pot gongfu 茶艺 movement.1
Sources#
Status and editorial notes sources cited
Sources are listed below. Their presence does not certify every claim; source-specific interpretations and unresolved questions are identified in the text. This page has not received independent expert approval.