Japanese wind furnace called “furo” is a portable water boiler designed specifically for tea ceremonies. This stone furo has been excavated from the large pit of the middle-level kuruwa in the Honmaru Main Enclosure research site. It is made of andesite from the local region, and this mortar-like apparatus comes with three legs. Although the major parts of the right side and the left side are missing, the remnant of its fire hole is still clearly visible. The chances are that this item was in actual use - judging from the carbide residue found on the interior. It measures at around 25 centimeters from the legs and is about 36 centimeters in diameter.
There is a distinctive comparison between the nature of the findings from the Ninomaru Second Enclosure site and the Honmaru Main Tower site - a large volume of roof tiles and foundational stones being found at the Second Enclosure, while there is none at the Main Tower other than this tea furnace being a stone product. This points to the theory that the Hiroe Castle’s Honmaru Main Enclosure may have been mostly the central living quarter for the Arima ruling family. Spanish merchant, Bernardino de Avila Giron, writes in his chronicle about Hinoe Castle in 1595; mentioned in it are the words “yard,” the “pond,” and the “tea ceremony” in regards to the castle lifestyle. It conjectures that a further research is needed in order to conclude the relationship between this particular relic and those castle tea ceremonies, as well as weather or not such an event had occurred on a regular basis within the Honmaru Main Enclosure itself.

＃Relics_excavated_at_the_site_of_the_Hinoe_Castle_ruins