A heavy bronze vase with elephant handles under a flaring rim formerly the property of the Soto school Zen Temple Keikokuji dated 1715 enclosed in a wooden box annotated by Onishi Seiuemon. An inscription around the base, translates to “Donated for the official use of Keikoku Zen Temple, [for placement] before the memorial monument of Fukujūji-den [Hachisuka Masakatsu], by the incumbent monk, the old man Jakujō.” followed by: “Shōtoku 5, kinoto-hitsuji [1715], on the Day of the Buddha's Rejoicing.”(15th day of the 7th month closely associated with Urabon and rites for the deceased). Keikoku-ji temple is in Awa (mod. Tokushima), the territory ruled by the Hachisuka family throughout the Edo period. Masakatsu was the father of Hachisuka Iemasa (1558–1639), who received Awa and established the Hachisuka presence there. The vase is 15.3 cm (6 inches) diameter, 23.5 cm (9-1/2 inches) tall and in fine condition for its age and history.
Keikoku-ji is a Sōtō Zen temple founded in 1413, during the Muromachi period. The garden behind the main hall was created by Ueda Sōko (1563–1650), the celebrated warrior, tea master, and garden designer active from the Momoyama into the early Edo period. Sōko studied the Way of Tea under Sen no Rikyū and later Furuta Oribe.
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.
