Really Expensive!

How expensive is a Japanese iron kettle? Please look at the first image - this photo is taken in a department store in Hong Kong. No, you are not mistaken, it is indeed more than $128,000 Hong Kong dollars, which means it’s around £13,000 British pounds! 

This price is a bit too much, and frustratingly so when the salesperson is unable to justify why it is so!

So why is it so expensive?

Let us see what kind of iron kettle it is, and try to find out why it is so expensive!

First of all, let’s look at the maker. The autography Hide Sen (秀仙) on the kettle, is Isago zawa Saburō (砂子澤三郎), the son of Hidehito (秀仁) and has a son called Hidemine (秀峰). All three of them are iron kettle makers, and it can be said that they are a family of kettle makers.

Next, the year period: Hide Sen (秀仙) was born in 1903 and passed away in the late 1970s. This kettle was a work between the 1950s and 1970s, which means was made a few decades ago. That itself has quite the historical value.

Furthermore, the design of the lion on the lid and the hexagonal body shape makes the kettle quite unique.

Afterall,  the most important reason is that the artist Hide Sen (秀仙) is the first "Traditional Craftsman" of Japanese Iron Kettles. This title given out to creators was to help revitalize Japan's traditional craftsmanship, so it was awarded to outstanding people of various crafts, allowing them to rise up in the ranks of society. For the Japanese Iron Kettle Category, this title was awarded to Hide Sen (秀仙) to praise his excellent craftsmanship (or probably more likely because he was respected as the oldest in the industry at that time). Later, the title was awarded to other kettle creators, but he was the first person to receive the title.