Acorn Dobin/Tea Pot (Sand Black)

Solid in the hand, rough at the rim — a teapot built to be passed around the table.

The Acorn Dobin is a classic sharing-format teapot from NANKEI POTTERY (南景製陶園) in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture, made in the Banko-yaki tradition. The "dobin" form pairs a rounded stoneware body with a removable rattan vine handle arching over the top — the old way of keeping your hand away from the heat. Fired using yakishime, a glaze-free method that bakes the clay at high temperature, the surface carries the honest texture of the earth: sandy, slightly rough, quietly alive. The iron in the clay deepens the colour with every use, drawing the tea's tannins into a rounder finish.

The Sand Black engobe technique layers dark clay slip over the body before firing, giving a warm, earthy depth that sets rather than shines. At 600ml, it brews generously — settle it in the centre of the table and let everyone pour for themselves.

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South of Nagoya, along the shore of Ise Bay, Yokkaichi in Mie Prefecture has been a centre for Banko-yaki since the eighteenth century. The city's iron-rich clay and long firing tradition gave rise to a distinct stoneware character — dense, unglazed surfaces that age quietly with use. 南景製陶園 (Nankei Pottery) has worked within this tradition for decades, using a proprietary clay formula that has remained unchanged for more than fifty years. High-temperature yakishime firing drives off virtually all porosity, leaving a body that is hard, smooth to the touch, and subtly warm in colour.

The forms Nankei designs are spare and considered — nothing added that does not serve the tea. A kyusu pours cleanly; a yunomi sits without fuss in the hand. That restraint comes not from minimal effort but from sustained attention to proportion and weight. If you want to learn more about the people behind the work, our Behind the Sip article on Nankei Pottery goes further: Nankei Pottery — Banko-yaki in Yokkaichi.