Mizusashi (fresh water jar)
A lidded jar of cold fresh water kept beside the hearth, from which the kettle is topped up and from which water is taken to rinse the bowl. It exists because the kettle stays on the fire: with no way to refill from a tap mid-gathering, the cold water has to be in the room already.
Identity
- Category
- Storage
- Native name
- 水指
- Romanised
- mizusashi, mizu sashi
- Also called
- fresh water container, cold water jar
- Material
- Glazed or unglazed ceramic, lacquered wood, or metal; lids sometimes lacquer
- Typical capacity
- 1500–4000 ml
- Skill level
- Advanced
Porosity
Not porous. It contributes nothing of its own to the liquor, so it can be moved between teas freely and washed with detergent without consequence.
Unglazed examples take up water and sweat slightly, which is tolerated because the vessel holds nothing but water. It does mean an unglazed jar should be emptied and dried rather than stored full.
Where it comes from
Japanese, and specific to chanoyu. The choice of jar is one of the decisions that carries meaning within a gathering; TeaHQ describes the object and does not speak for the practice.
Named here rather than presented as generic equipment. The object belongs to a practice, and TeaHQ describes it from the outside.
If you do not own one
A jug of cold water, which is what the object is. Outside the practice it answers a question a kitchen tap has already answered.
This one is not marked essential. The tea can be made without it.
Brewing methods it is used for
- Whisking (bowl-prepared powdered tea) — Powdered leaf suspended in water rather than steeped and strained — the only common preparation in which the leaf itself is consumed rather than discarded.
- Koicha (thick matcha) — Matcha prepared thick enough to pour like paint rather than to whisk into foam. It is not a stronger version of everyday matcha but a separate preparation with its own motion, its own grade of powder and, in chanoyu, its own place in the sequence — and it is the older of the two.
Tea types it suits
Care and maintenance
Empty after use and dry the interior. A lacquered lid must never be washed or soaked; wipe it dry and keep it away from heat.
Other storages
Sources
This page is TeaHQ synthesis. No external source stands behind the description, the material or the account of how the object is cared for. Where the record names a tradition, that attribution is TeaHQ’s own reading of common practice rather than a citation.
TeaHQ names no maker, brand or shop and has nothing to sell. Nothing on this page should be read as advice to buy the object — the substitute note above exists because owning it is usually optional.