Osaka Naniwa Suzuki

Soft, stable tin

Tin is a stable metal. It is said to purify water and not to spoil subtle flavours, so it suits sake ware, and it makes good vases. Because tin seals tightly, tea caddies keep their contents well even in hot, humid places. Japan mines almost no tin, so it is imported from Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, China and elsewhere, in ingots of 35 to 45 kg. It is made in Osaka, Matsubara, Habikino and Higashiosaka in Osaka.

Cast, then turned by hand

• Tin melts at only about 230°C. It is ladled into a tilted mould, cooled with a wet brush and taken out, and the excess is cut off.
• Tin is soft and hard to machine, so almost every step is done by hand.
• The rough casting is set on a lathe and shaved smooth with special planes.
• Finally it is polished to a soft shine.

From Sui China to Osaka

Tinware is said to have reached Japan about 1,300 years ago through envoys to Sui China. In the early Kamakura period the monk Eisai is said to have brought tea-jar makers back from Song China, the roots of Japan's tin craftsmen. A production area formed in Osaka in the mid-Edo period.