Cast Iron Mosquito Coil & Incense Dish

This is a cast iron dish made for traditional mosquito coils, though it also works well as a simple incense holder. It comes with two coils and an ash bed, so it is ready to use the moment it arrives. Set a lit coil or stick on the ash bed and it releases a calm stream of fragrance while keeping mosquitoes away in the warmer months.

The piece is finished with tea tannin and beeswax, materials commonly used in Japanese metalwork to give cast iron a soft, lived-in surface. It is produced by Oitomi in Mizusawa, Iwate, with the original form created by Tetsuro Kaneko of Arita.

Mosquito coils have been used in Japan for over a century, their origins tied to the long history of pyrethrum flowers being used as a natural insect repellent in East Asia. By the late nineteenth century they were shaped into the familiar spiral that burns slowly and evenly, a summer staple often set inside cast iron holders like this one on verandas and doorways.

Used for coils in the summer and incense throughout the year, it is a practical piece with a quiet presence that settles easily into any corner of the home.

Measurements:
6 × 6 × 2.6"