Tetsubin and Kyūsu

Tetsubin (鉄瓶) are Japanese cast iron pots having a pouring spout, a lid, and a handle crossing over the top, used for boiling and pouring hot water for drinking purposes, such as for making tea.

Tetsubin are traditionally heated over a charcoal fire. In the Japanese art of chanoyu, the special portable brazier for this is the binkake (瓶掛). (See list of Japanese tea ceremony equipment).  

Tetsubin are often elaborately decorated with relief designs on the outside. They range widely in size, and many have unusual shapes, making them popular with collectors. A relatively small tetsubin may hold around .5 litres of water; large ones may hold around 5 litres.

The historical origin of the tetsubin is not certain.^[1] At least one authoritative Japanese source^[2] states that it developed from the spouted and handled water kettle called tedorigama that was already being used in chanoyu in the era of Sen no Rikyū (1522–91). During the 19th century, infused tea became more popular and tetsubin were considered primarily status symbols rather than functional kitchen items.


There is also a smaller kind of cast iron pot that resembles a tetsubin and is referred to as an iron kyūsu (急須) or small teapot.

The prefectures of Iwate and Yamagata are best known for producing tetsubin as well as iron kyūsu.

Kyusu (急須 kyūsu^?) is a traditional Japanese teapot mainly used for brewing green tea.

The common misconception is that a kyusu always has a side handle. However, the word "kyusu" merely means "teapot", even though in common usage kyusu usually does refer to a teapot with a side handle.

The two most common types of kyusu are yokode kyūsu (横手急須 side hand(le) teapot^?), which has a side handle and which is the more common type, and ushirode kyūsu (後手急須 back hand(le) teapot^?), which has a rear handle, just like teapots in other parts of the world;^[1] there are also uwade kyūsu (上手急須 top hand(le) teapot^?).