Iwachu Showa Era umahada tetsubin

This tetsubin is 7" (18 cm) in diameter x 4.25" (11 cm) high, minus spout and handle, with a very well defined Showa Era Iwachu mark to the right of the spout. The interior is raw, un-coated cast iron with the only finish being from heating the kettle to apply the outer finish. It holds 6 cups (1.5 liters) of water and weighs 3 lbs 13 (1.7 kg) ounces, empty. It has been used, but the only sign of that is a bit of mineral build up inside the kettle. This and my other testsubin purchase both arrived today. Guessing this is Showa Era 1926-1989, but I have not been able to find any definitive explanation of Iwachu's markings.

I was stunned by the quality of this kettle when I unboxed it. Based on the seller's images, I thought it was smaller than the Oitomi umahada (horses skin) themed tetsubin that I bought about the same time but it is much larger, dwarfing the smaller Oitomi. The seller's measurements were very inaccurate. The weight of the two kettles is almost exactly the same, however, because the smaller Oitomi kettle is very thick while this Iwachu kettle is much thinner. The finish on the Oitomi kettle is very nice but the finishing of the Iwachu tetsubin is incredibly well done, the best I think that I have seen on a pot or kettle. There are no signs of grinding or any deficiencies in the finish. It is immaculate. I really couldn't believe it. Twenty three dollars (including shipping!) well spent!

I couldn't wait for a sunny day to try to get some images, so did the best I could using LED lighting in the evening, but I will try again when we get a sunny day here.