A very rare boat shaped vase made to be hung by chains made from the re-purposed iron plates of a suit of Japanese Samurai armor. The various sized ancient iron plats pierced with holes for lacing are riveted together with a central core of bamboo stained black with Sumi ink. The floating vessel is 27 x 10.5 x 12.5 cm (11 x 4 x 5 inches) and is in fine condition, enclosed in a period wooden box. Outside the box is titled Yoroi-kuzu Tsuri Hanaike, Tokugen-saku. Inside the box is written Yoroi Moe, Tsuri Hanaire, Tokugen Saku, and is annotated Go-Kama-shi Onishi Seiuemon (also read Seiwemon).
Kanamori Tokugen was a master armor maker active during the Azuchi-Momoyama period, regarded as the pinnacle of his craft. Primarily a blacksmith who crafted armor sets, he also left behind works such as kettle hooks, fire tongs, rings, and lid rests for use in the Japanese tea ceremony. The Onishi family, with their close association with the tea ceremony schools, were considered the experts on identifying his work.
Ōnishi Seiuemon is a family of kama-shi (kettle makers) of the Senke Jisshoku, the “Ten Craftsmen of the Sen family” who have long supported the practice of the tea ceremony. The Ōnishi family has carried on the tradition of Kyoto kettle-making for over four centuries, tracing its lineage back to the late Muromachi period. From the fourth generation onward, the head of the family adopted the name Seiuemon, and—with the exception of the ninth generation—successive masters from the sixth generation down have borne this name. The family workshop remains in Sanjō-Kamanza, Nakagyō Ward, Kyoto, where the Ōnishi Seiuemon Art Museum is also located.
