Japanese teapot

In use#

In MAFF’s illustrated sencha lesson, the brewer infuses the leaves and distributes the tea among three cups in small turns: 1–2–3, then 3–2–1. The sequence helps distribute strength and volume. The pot is drained at the end of that infusion. This is a documented teaching example whose tea and equipment are specified in the manual.

農林水産省《茶の淹れ方マニュアル》 · PDF 6–7 · 優美 2026 · p. 16 / PDF 17 · 123–124

Form#

The drawing shows a lidded body, a short spout and a side grip. Their apparent angle changes with the viewpoint. The interior strainer needs its own photograph or description.

Working volume#

Measure the individual vessel to the intended fill level. Exterior dimensions and the form name do not determine working volume. Published product capacities belong to the named model.

Object and context#

The 2026 Tokoname catalogue shows different body depths and grip angles. A handle pointing towards the viewer looks shorter in a photograph. Inspect the interior before identifying the strainer: ceramic holes, an attached ceramic screen and metal mesh are different constructions. The silhouette alone leaves that question open.

農林水産省《茶の淹れ方マニュアル》 · PDF 6–7 · 優美 2026 · p. 16 / PDF 17 · 123–124

History#

1. Song to Ming (China)The Northern Song poet 黄裳 (1044-1130) glossed 急須 as a tea vessel of the south-east, while the Ming writer 都卬 (『三餘贅筆』) recorded it as a wine warmer. Japanese dictionaries describe the kyūsu's ancestor as a Chinese wine-warming pot (see ambiguities).¹
2. Edo, 1735-1755The earliest certain Japanese use is by the sencha monk Baisaō (売茶翁), who sold tea in Kyoto in these years; a 1790 book shows his 急焼 on a stove.¹
3. Edo, 18th centuryPictures from 1766 to the 1790s show rear-handled pots as the usual form; the side handle, associated with Baisaō's own vessels, is rare until later in the 19th century and overtakes the rear handle around the Keiō era (1865-68).¹
4. Edo, lateKyoto potters such as Shimizu Rokubei made copies with handle and spout at right angles (売茶翁形), a form Aoki Mokubei also often made.²
5. Edo, c. 1820-1830Writers record a shift from boiled tea to infused tea (淹茶), and kyūsu are later named as vessels for infusion.¹
6. Meiji onwardThe spelling 急須 becomes the common Japanese name; earlier Edo texts write 急焼 or 急尾焼, read kibisho or kibishō.¹

Attributions are shown as the source states them.

In other traditions#

• Influenced by Yixing ware 中China. Japanese Wikipedia says the rear handle is said to come from the Yixing pot and that Banko and Tokoname imitated Yixing red and purple clay pots.³
• Influenced by (from that entry) Korean teapot 한Korea. Bang (2014) argues the Korean side-handled porcelain dagwan was modelled on Japanese teapots (急須) imported in the 19th century; the encyclopedia lists 급수 (急須) simply as another name for the dagwan.

Other recorded fields#

Ambiguities

• Note: Date of arrival: Nipponica (Kotobank) says the kyūsu reached Japan in the Muromachi period; Heibonsha, Waraku and Nishimura place it in the Edo period, and Nishimura finds Baisaō (1735-55) the earliest certain user. Britannica's entry mentions 42 kyūsu said to have been used by Ashikaga Yoshimasa and calls this unconfirmed.²
• Note: Origin: Waraku traces the pot to Tang and Song wine and water pots of southern China; Nipponica says it was invented in the Ming; Nishimura cites a Song gloss of 急須 as a tea vessel and a Ming one as a wine warmer, and argues きびしょ and きゅうす come from different Chinese dialects (Fujian vs Jiangsu).¹
• Note: Baisaō and the handle: Heibonsha says Baisaō favoured Chinese pots; Waraku says he favoured the side handle; Nishimura says his own vessels lacked the rear handle and calls the side handle the 'Baisaō type'.⁴
• Note: The learner's dictionary calls the rear handle Chinese-influenced and the side handle the most common Japanese style; this agrees with Japanese Wikipedia but both are low-weight sources.⁵

Related#