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Table of Contents
1.　Introduction
2.　Production Area
＿2-1. Castings of Morioka
＿2-2. Castings of Mizusawa
3.　Crisis of Decline
4.　Reason for the Name “NANBU”
5.　NANBU: Expanding Overseas Demand

Introduction

“NANBU TEKKI”. When people who know Japanese language hear this word without any information, some people may have a vague image of iron products made in the south of Japan, and I am one of them. But the actual production area is Iwate Prefecture, far from the southern part. No matter how you look at it, it is the northern part. It may be a little shortsighted to think that “Nanbu as in Nanbu Tekki means the southern part of Japan”, but even now to handle this item as an export product on a daily basis, I still cannot get rid of this incongruity. So, I decided to find out the origin of the name.

※In Japanese：NANBU=southern part, TEKKI=iron ware.

Production Area

As mentioned above, Nambu Tekki is produced in Iwate prefecture, and there are two major production areas there. Morioka City, the prefectural capital, and Oshu City, where the Mizusawa area is located.

Casting of Morioka

The history of casting in Morioka dates back to the Edo period. Around the time Morioka Castle was built, craftsmen such as kettle makers were hired from Kyoto to promote the tea ceremony, and have contributed greatly to the cultural development of the area. This is said as the origin of ironware production in Morioka. It is characterized by strong artistic elements such as tea ceremony utensils and gifts, and the prototype of the current Nanbu Tetsubin was also born in this area.

Morioka was in the domain of the Nanbu clan, ruled by a lord named Nanbu. Therefore, it is natural to use the name “Nanbu”, and it is a very easy-to-understand story.

Casting of Mizusawa

On the other hand, the history of casting in Mizusawa is even older. It is said that it began in the late Heian period when the Fujiwara clan invited casting craftsmen from Omi (Shiga prefecture). Unlike Morioka’s casting, many so-called daily necessities such as pots and kettles were made, and it developed greatly for the common people. However, when you looked into it, you’ll fund that Mizusawa was not the Nanbu clan but the Sendai clan. Mizusawa’s ironware would be called Sendai ironware if named after Morioka, but it was also called Nambu Tekki.

Crisis of Decline

The foundry industry faced the crisis of decline many times as the times changed. During World War II, the wartime regime prohibited the manufacture of iron products for non-military purposes, and it is said that the number of casting craftsmen in the southern part of the country, which used to be 150, was reduced to about one-tenth. In addition, after the war, aluminum products rose to prominence and became the mainstream of daily necessities. Under these circumstances, the foundry associations of both Morioka and Mizusawa regions joined forces and established the “Federation of Iwate Prefecture Nambu Tekki Cooperative Associations” in 1959. At this time, both were officially unified under the name of “Nanbu Tekki”. By the way, Nanbu Tekki refers to ironware made by members of this association.

Reason for the Name “NANBU”

Regarding the reason for the name Nanbu, there is no better reason than that Morioka’s ironware was made in Nanbu clan. Mizusawa, on the other hand, actually had a solid reason to call itself Nanbu Tekki. Looking at the map of Iwate Prefecture, and if Iwate Prefecture is evenly divided into north and south, Morioka would rather be on the north side. But Mizusawa is completely located in the southern part of Iwate Prefecture. There is no need to divide Iwate Prefecture into north and south to verify it. In other words, that geographical element was the reason for naming Nanbu for the ironware in Mizusawa area (although it was not Southern Japan).

NANBU: Expanding Overseas Demand

Currently, the demand for Nanbu Tekki is overwhelmingly higher overseas than in Japan, and it is widely known as NANBU (or NAMBU) TEKKI (or IRONWARE, CAST IRON), but there are still occasional notations such as SOUTHERN TEKKI and SOUTHERN IRONWARE on the internet. It means that “Nanbu” is translated not as a proper noun but as an adjective. If the products from Morioka are labeled as NANBU and those from Mizusawa as SOUTHERN, it is too deep and I am impressed. It may not be happened, but the momentum of overseas demand, especially in Europe and China, is so frightening that it makes me imagine that it is an order of magnitude higher than Japan. It’s probably not the time to worry about such things as the south or the north, probably overseas.

 

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