Nembu Tekki

Along with the Seigan chawan, another member of our family arrived back in February - this fine example of Nembu-tekki [cast-ironware from Nembu, now called Morioka, in Iwate Prefecture].

This is a tetsubin, for boiling water, rather than being one of ceramic-lined versions used as teapots. (I think I read somewhere that the latter is a modern/foreign practice.)

For the last five thousand years, I've used an induction system, which was fine but simply too noisy, with all of its bleeping buttons and noisy fans. We decided to buy a traditional Japanese pot because (i) the producer (Kunzan) has been making them for over a century, and (ii) neither Lei nor I felt that we could trust boiling our water in anything metallic made in the PRC. We figured that with something as important as a water-vessel that we would use every day, it wasn't worth skimping on the money and ending up with some charming PRC-induced malady. As Lei puts it, "I respect Japanese craftsmanship, and it's not likely to kill me."

Pictured above, the bulk of the kettle with a smooth, mottled skin. The alternative is the "hob-nail" effect, in which the skin is punctuated by many triangular stubs. Unsurprisingly, Lei's Chinese aesthetic requires something smooth and pleasant, rather than the "shaqi" [aggressive, pointy, malevolent qi] of a pointy vessel. It will come as no surprise to learn that, as a result of this aesthetic, there aren't many sharp corners in our house or garden. This is fine for me, as I'm extremely clumsy, and tend to bruise myself many times per week on any available pointy furnishings...

Shown above, the interior of the kettle. Kunzan finish the inner skin with an oxidation layer (a traditional non-chemical, steaming approach) that inhibits rusting. As a result, one mustn't clean the inside - which I believe is generally good advice for all iron kettles, and woks. Cleaning the interior would scrape away the upper layer of the material, and expose plenty of metal for the air to oxidise into rust.

In the centre of the interior, right in the centre of the base, is the mark caused by the finishing process. Little orange spots have formed on it, which the vendor (Artistic Nippon) forewarned us would appear, as part of the normal aging process. They appeared after the second day of use, and have since remained unchanged.

The mark of Kunzan is pictured above. The business has been family-run for a century, with the grandson currently installed as the head kettle-maker, with all manner of accolades from the Japanese Ministry of the Interior.

We're using a hot-plate to warm it up, which makes for a very soothing (and warming!) tea atmosphere, in contrast to the technological cacaphony of the Kamjove inductor. It's gradual and slow, as opposed to the rapidity of the Kamjove, but this has actually turned out to be A Good Thing. I like my tea-sessions to go at a slow pace, and a hurried soul would find it difficult to enjoy much in the way of good tea - at least, that's how it works for me.

I'll post some further experiences with the water and so on in a later article. For now, Kunzan kettles and Artistic Nippon - highly recommended.