Tea Caddy of Bunrin Type, Known as “Hakata Bunrin”

China, 15-16th century　Ceramic
H.6.4cm, D. 6.4cm, BD.3.3cm
Kuroda Family Treasures

Bunrin is a poetic term for an apple, and has been known as a characteristic tea caddy form since old times. However, it is not strictly defined and remains obscure and mysterious. To this day, there are many attempts to define this form from a variety of perspectives.
The shape of this caddy is far from that of an apple, and in fact it could be classified as a katatsuki (shouldered) type vessel. However, when its wide trumpet-like mouth is seen from above it resembles the shape around an apple’s stem, and the diagonal spatula applied to the inside of the mouth, are consistent with characteristics of Bunrin type tea caddy in accordance with the descriptions in historical records.
This caddy was once owned by the wealthy Hakata merchant Kamiya Sotan (1563-1635). Although it was coveted by both the ruler Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Kuroda Nagamasa, the first lord of the Fukuoka han, the feudal domain of the Kuroda family, Sotan continued refusing their requests. Eventually, however, the piece was purchased by Kuroda Tadayuki, the second lord of Fukuoka, for 2,000 gold ryo and an annual income of 500 koku (one koku is approximately 180 liters of rice or enough to feed one person for a year on average), and was cherished by the Kuroda family for a long time afterward. The tea caddy came along with five sets of shifuku, or pouches to hold caddies, and a gebuta, a cover or lid made of ivory. This celebrated object, hidden from view for centuries, has a fascinating provenance as an object of envy for men in power at the time.