By the 16th century, Japanese ceramics were in great demand for use in both the tea ceremony andthe kaiseki meal served before the more formal type of tea ceremonies. In Japan, wood and lacquer had traditionally been used for dining, and the use of ceramics for the kaiseki meal and tea ceremony helped to spur their use in homes. This squarish jar, produced at the Iga kilns, illustrates the type of vessel used as a fresh-water container (mizusashi) during the tea ceremony. Water stored in this container is used for replenishing the tea kettle and cleaning the tea bowls. The shape of this jar is unusual among Iga fresh-water containers, which are generally round. An unevenly applied glaze has fired green in some places and brown or black in others; two lattice-patterned rectangles were impressed on two of the sides prior to the application of the glaze. Since the earliest Iga wares were not glazed, the use of glaze on this piece helps to date it to the early 17th century. The glazed cover on this jar may not be original--the colors of the glaze do not match those found on the body of the jar, and jars of this type generally had black lacquer lids. Fresh-water jars and flower vases were among the two most common products of the Iga kilns, and both were produced primarily for use in the tea ceremony.

The Iga kilns were located in Mie Prefecture. Kilns were probably established there in the 16th century, possibly under the patronage of Tsutsui Sadatsugu, who ruled the area from 1585 to 1608. Iga wares continued the tradition of stonewares begun at the Seto kilns during the Kamakura period (1185-1333). They are also closely related to the Shigaraki wares that were produced in nearby Shiga Prefecture and which were also used in the tea ceremony. The influential tea master Sen no Rikyu (1521-1591), who was noted for his understated tea ceremonies (known as wabicha), is often credited with the introduction of Iga wares to the tea ceremony. Iga wares are also closely affiliated with the style of tea favored by Furuta Oribe (1544-1615), a pupil of Rikyu who developed a more energetic, expressive, and individualistic style of tea. In his tea diary, Oribe, who is often credited with the experimentation in shapes and forms that mark Japanese tea wares in the late 16th and early 17th centuries, states that he used fresh-water containers and flower pots from Iga.